The Trial of Faith - Part 2

Before reading this post, please first read the previous post:

The Trial of Faith - Part 1

The lifestyle of a disciple of Jesus Christ is based on faith in Christ. But true faith is an enduring faith. Faith is not faith unless there is an obstacle involved – an obstacle that can be removed by God alone. This is the dynamic behind the "trial of faith."

There are four parts to a trial of faith, which is patterned time after time by the "heroes of faith" in the Bible (read Hebrews 11):

1. A word from God – First, God encourages you with a word relevant to your circumstances. This may come through the Scripture or by the inner voice of God's Spirit, which is always in line with the written Word of God.

2. Obedience to the word – For faith to operate in your situation, you must obey that word. Faith is active, not passive. Most of God's promises are conditional – he will do his part, if you respond in faith and obedience to his Word.

3. The crisis of faith – This is a period of testing. Everything that happens appears contrary to what God has said (see Psalm 105:17-19). At this point, your faith rests solely on God's Word. This is true faith in action.

4. The outcome of faith – The end result of a trial of faith is victory on the part of the believer, bringing glory to God (see James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:7; Hebrews 6:13-15).

In each trial we face, God is looking for faith - remember, it is our response of faith which pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Many times we tend to short-circuit the faith process. We believe God for something – healing, provision, an answer of some kind – and then wonder why God doesn't respond immediately. But God is doing a deep work in our lives. Even though he has promised to answer, he will sometimes delay the answer to give opportunity for our faith to really work. This is because once the answer comes, we don't need faith anymore (we then shift from faith to thanksgiving). But what we need to realise is that faith itself produces something in our hearts which has greater eternal value than even the answer we are believing for!

1 John 5:4 provides a unique insight into the true nature of the faith dynamic in our lives:

"...for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."

Do you notice what this verse says? Faith itself is the victory! Victory isn’t defined by the answer to our faith, but by our very faith in operation, even before the answer comes! I am not waiting to experience God’s total healing in order to have the victory. I already have the victory – right now! My faith itself is the victory!

This changes the whole way we approach the problems of life. Even while you are going through a trial of faith, with the answer not yet in sight, your faith is the very victory that sustains you. You are "shielded by faith" (Ephesians 6:16; 1 Peter 1:5) until the time when God's answer comes.

This is why Galatians 2:20 says:

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

In Romans 8:37, we have that wonderful promise from God:

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

This is the nature of the Christian life – we are described as "more than conquerors," which means far more than just being a "super-conqueror." A natural conqueror is a conqueror only as long as he is seeing the natural victories. But a "more than a conqueror" is someone that surpasses the very definition of what it means to be a conqueror! And the clue to what Paul means when he says "more than a conqueror" is found at the beginning of verse 37, where Paul says: "No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors..."

In what things? If we read verses 35-36, we quickly find out what things Paul is talking about:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'"

Notice that it is in the midst of the hardships of life that we are "more than conquerors." It is "in these things" - trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and sword - that I have the victory. I am not a conqueror because I have the absence of trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and sword. No, I am "more than a conqueror" right in the middle of experiencing these very trials of life! This is the nature of faith.

So faith is what defines my walk with God right now. At this point, I have no hard evidence that God has healed me. In fact, all the indicators point to the opposite. All the advice from my doctors is that I do not have long to live. These are the observable "facts" of my situation. But I have another set of "facts" – which is God’s word to me. My faith doesn't mean I deny the reality of the physical facts; my faith means that God’s word overrides that reality. I have chosen to place my faith in God - that he "rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

My faith is in the Lord as my Healer. Although I'm asking him to heal quickly, I am also willing to wait patiently for him. In the words of Psalm 37:7:

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him..."