Pleasing God With Faith

     I am very human, and I love humanity very deeply. I love the beautiful and the precious things about humanity, and I love the frailties and weaknesses of humanity. I can't even imagine how lonely I would be if I was only surrounded by angels, because I could never begin to relate to such strong, pure, and perfect beings. As Emily Judson says, "I am frail, and with frail things would dwell".

     The strange thing is that even though human weakness in other people does not bother me at all, and only makes them much more dear to me, I've had an extremely hard time dealing with weakness or sometimes just simple humanity in myself. And I've often had a very hard time having faith in God's love for me. I've been through times in my life when I've been so overwhelmed with my own weakness and unworthiness that I've hardly dared to pray at all. I didn't understand how God could possibly love and care about someone as weak and frail and sinful as I am, and I was afraid to come to Him for help or forgiveness sometimes because I felt so unworthy.

     I think Satan was working overtime whispering the most discouraging thoughts into my ear at those times. We know that Satan spends his time walking about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8.) And I think he knows that if he can just get us to lose faith in God, he has won the greatest victory that he can win. If he can just get us to believe that God doesn't want to hear from us again, and that we've disappointed Him too many times to ever be useful to Him again, he has destroyed something vitally important thing to God---Faith.

     Human weakness is no problem for God. He created us from the dust of the ground, and knows our every weakness and tenderly cares for them.

* Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are but dust. Psalms 103:13-14

     Human sin is no problem for God. He will forgive the blackest, darkest, most hideous sin that we can commit if we come to Him in faith.

* Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18

* And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 1 John 2:1

     But if Satan can just get us to lose faith in God, so that we don't come to Him for the forgiveness, help, and restoration that we need, that IS a problem.

* But without faith it is impossible to please Him. Hebrews 11:6

* When Jesus prayed for Peter, He prayed that his faith wouldn't fail. "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Luke 22:31-32

     It's been so touching to me that Jesus didn't even pray that Peter wouldn't fall. He didn't pray that he wouldn't deny Him. Jesus knew Peter's weakness. He told him he was going to fall. And though Peter said, "Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death." (Luke 22:33), he denied that he even knew Him three times in the next few hours. Why did Jesus pray that his faith wouldn't fail? Well, I know in my own life when my faith is the very weakest is after I've failed. When I've fallen. Then I often feel so useless, so discouraged, and hopeless, and hardly dare to lift my eyes towards heaven, and my Savior who I've hurt and disappointed. But it's obviously much more important to Jesus that our faith not fail when we fall, than that we never fall.

     He didn't give up on Peter, when he denied him three times, even after he had so much forewarning about it. The Lord's desire for Peter was that after he fell, he would still have faith in Him for His love and forgiveness. He had no intention of giving up on him. He didn't even say, "Well, Peter, I can understand if you were weak enough to deny me once or possibly even twice, but three times is just too much. I'll freely forgive you, but you better go somewhere far away and be quiet for a long time. "No, He was going to use him to strengthen his brethren, and use him very mightily in saving souls.

     What if Peter's faith had failed? What if he had kept the deep shame that he felt at the time of His fall, and was too overcome by his own weakness and failure to accept God's forgiveness and go on? It was only a short time later that God used one sermon of his to bring three thousand people to Jesus for salvation. (Acts 2). What if Peter had been somewhere in deepest dejection mourning his own weakness and failure, and doubting God's willingness to forgive, instead of out boldly working for Jesus?

     As long as we are on this earth our hearts and actions will never be perfect. We will be full of human weakness and frailty. No matter how much we long to be perfect we will still sin, and hurt and disappoint our Savior at times. But we NEVER have to give Him the deepest hurt of all, of losing faith in His love and willingness to forgive us and use us. We can always please Him by coming to Him in humble repentance, and FAITH in His love and ability to forgive and restore us.

     The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins: nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is far above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalms 103:8

     Though Satan may have won some unfortunate victories in our lives at times through our own weakness and foolishness, he can never win any major permanent victory, if our faith does not fail. We only need to go to God in repentance and ask Him for His forgiveness, and ACCEPT it, and say,

* Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect:... But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

2004 A Sister In Christ