Puzzling Faith

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Ever hear or use the saying I’m hanging on by a thread? To me, it comes across as a very negative or pessimistic statement. It sounds like there is no hope or the person using the expression has little to no hope of a positive outcome, right? Hope is often defined as expectancy, trust, or a cord. This last one, cord, is something I wrote on in Something Had to Die – this is one of my favorites.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 NIV

Because I have such trust issues, hope is something I find to be a bit elusive at times. Some translations of Proverbs 13:12 have a longing fulfilled as a dream coming true. I hope for something and then find that it doesn’t work out quite the way we were thinking it would (or at all). I hope for something, get encouraged to hope even more, and then those hopes are dashed. When we’re hanging on by a thread of hope, where does faith fit?

Now faith is often considered to mean something very similar, but there’s so much depth of meaning lost or simply not understood when we use it our day-to-day conversations. Faith, as the Hebrew word ’emeth (Strong’s H571), it’s often connected with lovingkindness, and occasionally peace, righteousness and justice – God’s words and actions are characterized by this Hebrew term. It is a contraction from Strong’s H539 (aman) which is a verb meaning to build up, to support, to nurture, or to establish – providing stability and confidence. It can also signify certitude or assurance. Also, from Strong’s H539, we get the word amen which means so be it and truth. It’s a word spoken at the end of most prayers to signify being in agreement with God’s Word.

In the New Testament, we learn the Greek word for faith is pistis (Strong’s G4102) and means something a little different from the Hebrew. Pistis, what we know as faith, means a firm persuasion and a belief in the truth of someone or something. It’s used as a word to refer to a faith in Christ as able to work miracles and to heal the sick – of His death and resurrection. Our faith that consists of believing the Gospel message literally means to believe the Gospel message. It’s so basic it’s almost mind-blowing.

My kiddos and I really enjoy puzzles. My husband, however, enjoys swiping a piece and holding it till we’re upset and frantically looking for the last piece; then he swoops in and gets to put in the last piece. Okay, so he did it once and I can’t seem to let it go. But when our puzzling is going at a normal pace, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched one of my kiddos try every way but the right way to put a piece in the correct spot that it fits. They know it goes there, or have a decent hunch, but they can’t seem to see the correct way it fits.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve come across the topic of God’s faithfulness and our faith in Him quite a bit. Of course, our faith is built on faith, so it makes sense that if I’m spending any time in the Word that I’m coming across this very broad topic. But sometimes things shift in our understanding. We turn the puzzle piece just so and it suddenly fits. It was always the piece that went in that particular spot, but in order for it to fit, it had to be turned.

The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!” Luke 17:6 NLT

While this passage is there to encourage, it can often produce the opposite effect. I recall thinking, at one point in my life, that I must not have even mustard-seed-sized faith because I wasn’t experiencing certain results. I’m not a name-it-claim-it believer, but I do believe that God made promises to us that I can trust He will keep. That’s faith. I don’t just have faith for seeing the promises God made come to fruition in my life, but my faith is tied directly to my eternal salvation.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

We’ve been saved by grace through faith. Something we don’t deserve and didn’t earn, but we believe. What? What is it we believe? Is it that we believe we’re saved by grace? What about all the times we question our worth? What about when we fail at being faithful? What about the times we get angry that God didn’t intervene when He could have and even made it look easy? Does our lack of faith in those times of grief and weakness negate our original moment of salvation? There are some who would say yes!

But that puzzle piece just didn’t fit right…

After the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, they wondered in the desert for a good, long while. Decades! During this time, their clothes didn’t wear out and they didn’t have crops to speak of. I don’t even have jeans that are older than 5 years and I’m not sure what I would do without a grocery store nearby. They had no real source for food, but God provided manna (a bread-like substance that had a sweet flavor) and quail. He would provide enough for each person for each day and would provide a double portion on the 6th day so they could rest on the 7th day. They would wake up in the morning and there was food. God even provided water for them in the desert!

They witnessed the devastation of the plagues in Egypt. They witnessed the parting and crossing of the Red Sea. They witnessed God go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They didn’t have to fight their way free, they didn’t have to navigate building boats, they didn’t have to have a map to get to their destination, and now we find that they didn’t even have to sow, but reaped manna. God even provided water to come out of a rock – twice – for all of them and their livestock to drink their fill. What did they actually do? They grumbled, complained, and worshipped golden idols (gold that the Egyptians gave them as they were leaving slavery).

Even after they received their miraculous rescue and continued care by way of food and water and invincible clothing, they failed at being faithful. But He was always faithful. This line of thought, this examining of the puzzle piece, got me looking at faith in a whole new light.

In God, all things are held together (Hebrews 1:3 and Colossians 1:17). The very foundations of the world are held together because God is faithful. The Word of God holds true, and we can trust Him (Psalm 33:4-5). He cannot lie – it’s against His nature. He keeps every promise forever (Psalm 146:5-6). His faithfulness is forever (Psalm 117)! There are so many passages that directly point to God’s faithfulness and even more that speak of it indirectly.