This blog post is now available as a podcast! Click the image below if you’d prefer to listen:
Most Christians can identify with this man from time to time.
It is the acknowledgment of our failing to practically trust that what God’s Word says is true. We mentally trust God to protect, care for, and provide for us, but sometimes we are faced with something that seems to overpower our faith to live it out. We don’t feel we have enough faith to follow Him at that moment, so we ask for more help.
We know what the truth is and believe it, but we struggle to live it out practically.
It’s in these moments we must remember a few things:
- We are on a lifelong journey of being graciously discipled by God Himself. Each life event is a new situation for us to practice living out what we say we believe. We will not always do this perfectly. Isn’t that why He came? It is His enabling work in us by His Holy Spirit that empowers us to obey and we are growing more and more, over time, in cooperating with Him in that process.
2. We can always ask for what we need. When we doubt, we can ask for more faith. When we waver in our strength to follow, we can ask for more strength. When we lack the desire to obey, we can ask to be made willing. As believers, we know that our faith and obedience are always deficient, and we frequently ask God to enable us to live a life that glorifies Him. If left to our own fleshly strength, we would never make it.
“I believe; help my unbelief” is at once a statement of faith and an acknowledgment that our faith is not perfect.
3. All things are under the control of our good and faithful Lord and we must keep our eyes fixed on Him.
In the book Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan leads the reader, through allegory, in the reality that a Christ follower will see difficulties ahead. The difficulties are, at one point, shown to us as two lions on the way. When faced with difficulties ahead, Christians may be tempted to feel or say, “I cannot pass through such an ordeal.”
In Pictures From Pilgrim’s Progress, Charles Spurgeon says,
4. Look at the difficulty of following Christ in the face, for it will soon vanish. Spurgeon goes on to encourage us to, “Go ahead and consider the difficulty carefully, and then consider the far greater difficulty in your way if you do NOT profess the faith which you say you truly hold.”
Friends in the faith, we are on this journey for the long haul. There are many ways we will grow and are growing. God’s grace is present in it all. He does not expect you to be perfect and He longs for you to recognize your dependence on Him to boldly approach His throne of grace in our time of need. God is not the author of evil, but somehow He works all things together for His purposes and those purposes are beyond us and this physical realm. As we fix our eyes on Him and recognize that the lions are chained, we will grow in our trust and faith and we will practically live out more and more what we say we believe.
Would you like to experience my weekly questions audibly? You can now do that through my new podcast, Asking is Loving! I’d love it if my readers would check it out, rate it, and subscribe!
Are you signed up for my monthly e-mail, “Encouragements to Turn Toward Grace”? When you sign up, you will receive a free digital booklet I created called: Asking is Loving, Powerful Questions to Ask Yourself & Your Loved Ones. It’s full of great coaching questions divided into chapters focused on questions for yourself, your spouse, your children, and your friends. You’ll also receive a free scripture printable of Proverbs 4: 23 and a free printable of the Ten Daily Biblical Truths that I use regularly.
I’m linking up this week with these awesome bloggers:
“Unbelief generally has a good eye for the lions, but a blind eye for the chains that hold them back.” Well said. Thank you, Amy.
Spurgeon and Bunyan are the true writers and inspiration for this post! Thanks!
Walking consistently is a key piece…thank you for this.
Consistently and carefully!
Amy, thank you for this timely reminder! I am always shocked at how easily I allow unbelief to shackle the Lord’s work in my life. Spurgeon’s words hit home for me today!
He’s got a way with words, doesn’t he?
Thank you for this post, Amy. “Friends in the faith, we are on this journey for the long haul.” So very true. We are always growing and changing and hopefully, becoming more like Christ.
Glad to be on this journey of walking and writing with you and our blogging friends!
So well said and so encouraging to be reminded that my faith is imperfect, but not absent when I have these moments.
Thanks, Lauren! May the Lord strengthen us in our faith!
I’m so thankful we can always ask for what we need, and we can know that God hears us and responds. The answer doesn’t always look like I expect it to, but that’s okay too. 🙂
Hi Lisa, may we grow in our quick response to run to Him.