All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
Faith Or Reality?
A daddy has cancer & you want more than anything for him to be healed. You pray daily that the Lord would bring a healing as you watch him waste away. Is it lack of faith if you pray for the best but expect the worst?
I was having a conversation with a young man that is going through this situation. He said he was counting on the worst to happen tho was still praying for the best. He said his faith tank needs to be fueled.
So, does it mean our faith is small because we live in reality? Should we expect the greater things though knowing the record & statistics of Stage 4 Colon Cancer usually end in death or that reality is what it is? Or is that being double-minded & having a wavering faith like the ocean?
Should we continue to pray for what we wish would truly happen really knowing in our heart that it won't? And if we know in our heart what the reality is & accept that fact, does that mean our faith is little or does it mean we're to continue to hope for the greater things - A healing from the Almighty? Does the reality around us cloud our view of the Son? Should we continue to believe the sun is shining when all we see is dark? Isn't that what faith is?
This kinda ties to your discussion Amanda about do we just accept it for what it is or do we fight.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by JB on
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The faith that is expressed in a situation such as this, is faith that God can heal, the faith that brings healing is our faith in God and what He accomplished on the cross through His Son Jesus, the Christ. And Christ is in us. Phm.1:6, That the communication of thy faith may become effectual, by the acknowledging of every good thing that is in you, in Christ Jesus.
“Counting on the worst to happen” There is more faith in this statement than the following; “was still praying for the best”
Mark 11:24 says, Therefore I say unto you, what things soever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.
When we look at prayer, we see that it is often used as a wish, a desire, a hope, a request, etc.
Romans 8:24-27 (KJV)
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.The Amp. Bible, says
24 For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure.
26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. (Praying in the spirit)As New Creations, the Word of God has to become our reality, not our fleshly perceptions. We know more about the progression of certain ailments, than we do about faith in the Word of God, and His promises. 1Jo.5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
And yes, it is double mindedness when we are wavering in our faith, praying for one thing, and expecting another. Remember what Elijah told Ahab and the people at Mount Carmel? How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, then follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him. We could say, if the circumstances dictate, or forms our decisions, and opinions; then we must accept the outcome of what it produces.
But we serve a God “Christ” that is not limited by circumstances. And He lives in us. He is not up in heaven, that we should say who shall ascend into heaven that is to bring Christ down from above, And He isn’t dead either. That we should say, who shall descend into the deep that is to bring up Christ from the dead…the Word is nigh thee, it is in your heart and in your mouth…Try Ro.10.
Pr.29:18 where there is no vision, the people perish, and Ho.4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. We need to let the Word of God gain the ascendency over our circumstances, and thinking.
JB
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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With my sister, I prayed and hoped for the best and each time the news became worse and worse, I still prayed and asked for miracles. I knew the odds of the medical profession being able to help her were very poor but I knew God can do things medicine can't do. So I kept asking for the miracles.
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PS For myself, I've prayed and have asked God for a long time for healing of autoimmune illness. I've now stopped asking for the miracle. There's no medical cure for it, either. There are treatments that help manage its symptoms. I'm still receiving treatment. I must think of what my family wants for me and I considered just letting it run its natural course and not receiving the treatments. But I'm beginning now to respond once again to the treatments. There's hope for remission if this positive response continues. Just in the past few days, I've experienced positive signs of response.
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Faith is something that can have more than one object. Here's an excellent article, IMO, regarding seeking help from medical/mental health professionals called 'Christians and mental health: 'This has nothing to do with whether I believe in Jesus' http://gu.com/p/43a8b/sbl
Mark 2:17
English Standard Version
And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
There are billions of gifted people in this world who have used their God-given gifts, talents, abilities, skills, and so on, to develop medications, treatments, cures and so forth within the various fields of medicine. Seeing a doctor wasn't looked down upon by Jesus during His earthly ministry even though He miraculously healed people.
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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It's heartbreaking to hear of these things. It's hard to know what to say.
Rather than saying 'Faith OR Reality', I would say that Faith is Reality....as a Christian anyway. It's our goal isn't it? It's our reality. YES God can heal. But there are too many unknowns for us.
Does this man know Jesus?
I like what you wrote on LT's blog 'The Perfect Christian'
LT wrote:
… guilty needing redeeming
… broken needing fixing
… lost needing guidance
… blind needing sight
… deaf needing hearing
… weak needing strength
… spiritually dead needing spiritual life
You added:
*darkness needing light
*orphans needing sonship
*sinners needing forgiveness
He made them perfect by changing:
*condemnation to grace
*living a life of feelings to a life of faith
*doubt to assurance
*old man to new creation
*the enemy of God to a child of God
*anxiety to trust
*worry to hope
*evil to holy
*fear to joy
*wicked to righteous
*hate to love
*dishonor to worship
*prison to praise
*pride to humility
*hell to heaven
Our 'flesh' wants answers. Our 'Spirits' have already gotten them.
Man.... I hate cancer. I'll keep him in my prayers.
Love, Carla
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Carla,
I like what you said.
Recently, in one of my discussions, someone posted an article from gotquestions.org that was answering if it's sometimes God's will for believers to be sick? Here's a link if anyone is interested in how they've answered. http://www.gotquestions.org/sickness-will-God.html
It ministered to me.
Something else that ministered to me was said by a friend who won't mind me sharing this but she told me she knows God means what He says but her faith falters more in how He will fulfill His Word and promises. In other words, she believes that if she asks He will answer in some way, but how? That's the question. What will God do? The friend also prayed for a loved one's healing but wondered what God would do. When her loved one died, she said she understood that it was God's will to heal her loved one completely and wholly but not here. She said God had answered her prayers His way, according to His will.
It helped me a lot, her sharing this with me.
Faith is a gift. I also think it must grow and there are different levels of faith. I think most people struggle in their faith.
People also put their faith into many things. This is why it's often said that the atheist has faith but God isn't the object of their faith.
Objects of faith can include one's marriage, one's spouse, one's church, one's Doctor, etc...
One definition of faithful is
3. Faithful, constant, loyal imply qualities of stability, dependability, and devotion. Faithful implies long-continued and steadfast fidelity to whatever one is bound to by a pledge, duty, or obligation: a faithful friend.
Faithful | Define Faithful at Dictionary.com
www.dictionary.com › browse › faithful
God is the object of the Christian faith.
We can have faith in God but also turn to trusted doctors and professionals and even pastors and other Christians for help. Most christians want to be faithful brothers and sisters in Christ as well as be faithful children of God and faithful to God and to the Body of Christ.
I'm finally beginning to have positive results to the treatments I've been getting for autoimmune illness.
But, like Paul and his thorn, I've prayed for it to be taken away and Paul asked three times. I've asked many times. I've finally stopped asking and am now only asking for the grace to live with it.
The experience of others may be to continue praying for the miraculous healing in this life.
I know I talk too much about me but recently I just told God that I wasn't going to bother Him anymore, asking and praying and hoping for healing of autoimmune illness for all this time. I will keep getting the injections because my husband wants me to and I'll go to therapy for help with depression for him, too.
I wonder, if I do those things does it mean I'm not depending on God or am not letting His grace be sufficient?
The woman in the gospels spent all she had on doctors but there was no cure they could give her, and then she was able to meet Jesus face to face and be healed. Like my friend said about her loved one, this might be the way God will heal me. I'll see Him face to face when I put off the tent of this body.
While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 2 Cor 5:4, NLT
Tammy, I posted my discussion because I have questions, such as I know God permits bad things to happen, but are we expected to accept those things as though they are God's will for us? Or are we supposed to fight the enemy who steals and destroys? Are we supposed to seek counseling and try to get better and seek medications even when miraculous healing for whatever reason doesn't happen to us?
I'm doing all that I know to do, all that I believe God's will is for me to do. But I'm also still learning.
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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Great posts by everyone.
Our reality is a life of Faith.
Without faith it's impossible to please him.
I have never seen God, but I have seen him.
I know that I know, that I know He is real and I love him so much more than anything or anyone, but yet, I feel so wrong at times for saying that, because there are times of personal failure. Failure to obey his commandments, which are NOT burdensome to me.
I fail in my obedience in actually abiding in him as I should. My obedience in trusting in him rather than trying to get the results of what I am praying for through my own ways/methods etc... but I do, I do love Him so much and its because I love him that I am not comfortable failing him. By God's grace, his word is deep enough in my heart to keep me from falling into condemnation when I fail, because I know He loves me, this not by faith, but rather through faith, because of relationship. A life in holiness is the cure.
It is our failures that makes our faith falter. Do not expect the worst, but rather a miracle. If God gives the miracle hallelujah, if He doesn't, praise him, for we have our answer.
We are to be ok with God giving and taking away, in this life we will have troubles, but He has overcome and because He lives, we live. Never expect the worst.
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