Words of Faith

When my children were younger and wanted me to give them something to eat, they would say, “Dad, I’m hungry.” And I, as a Dad true to my good sense of humor would respond, “Hi hungry, I’m Dad.” That “dad joke” slays me still and I continue to use it whenever opportunity presents itself.

I love the faith of children; call it child-like. If a child has a belly ache, they tell mom or dad, “I have a belly ache.” If a child is hungry, their request is spoken until it is heard. If a child has a question, they ask, usually with follow on questions. They are, in their complete honesty and unconcern for social propriety, living examples to us of what Jesus meant when He said,

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14 NIV)

and

And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)

When a child asks a parent a question or requests something they display true faith in that parent. And it is the same for us with our heavenly Father; when we have a need or question, He is not put off by our asking or by our honesty, but rather delighted that we would go to Him. It grieves my heart, and I believe the heart of God as well, when we are taught that being honest with God somehow contradicts faith. We can approach God as did the psalmist when he wrote,

I believed, therefore I said, “I am greatly afflicted.” (Psalm 116:10)

By sincerely submitting your struggles and questions to God you are not lessening God’s power but rather declaring Him as your soul’s rest and confidence and ultimate answer. He is the One we approach for mercy and grace in our time of need.

And we can be honest with one another. Dare we? I’m from the east coast, New England. Relational walls come down slowly here. But God has given us brothers and sisters that we can be real with, not to flood them with a torrent of complaints, but to be honest with them about the struggles of faith, life, and love, knowing that with God there is hope and answers. How should we respond to a friend’s, “How are you?” We may be stealing from them the opportunity to be a blessing when we hide our struggle behind canned responses such as “I’m blessed!” or “Every day is a new day in Jesus.” These things are true, but is that what they are asking? There’s a difference between what you are and how you are.

The truth is, we all have bad days; we all struggle with doubt. Love must be sincere, and the truth must be spoken in love. When there is weeping, let us weep with those who weep. When here is rejoicing, let us rejoice with those who rejoice. Let everything be done in love.

Scripture References

After listing his sufferings in the context of hope in God, Paul writes,

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. (2 Corinthians 4:13,14 ESV)

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. (James 5:17 ESV)

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15 ESV)