Faith Trumps Circumstances Every Single Time

When I was little, my father worked off shore in the gulf. He would be gone for months at a time. Then he’d return and be off for about 30 days. Each time he left I knew he’d be back. I never once thought he’d never return to us. Sometimes we would really miss him and mother would pull out a letter he had written and we’d read it together. We found comfort in those messages of love. Even when there was a hurricane and he and his crew weren’t heard from during the storm, I just expected he’d return. He always came back and generally he was bearing gifts. I still have many of those presents to this day.

Have you ever gone through a time when it felt like your heavenly father was absent? You might not hear directly from Him and you might not see evidence of his presence for a long period of time. You may have even experienced a storm in your life when you felt that God was nowhere to be seen. You may feel that He has left you in the storm to go it alone.

Maybe you are going through such a quiet time right now. You know God. You’ve experienced His presence. You’ve trusted in His Word and you’ve walked in His precepts. But now you’re going through hard times and He appears silent. Will He return to save you? Will He come and intervene or will He stay gone until it’s all over? You may feel you have to do something for yourself or you have to take matters into your own hands. Is He gone and will He return? Does He care about our everyday troubles and situations? Is He simply an aloof God who leaves us to do our own plans and make our own decisions?

Oh beloved, you can be certain that God is always with you. Your circumstances might try to make you feel that He is gone from it all. Your feelings may cry out to you that you are totally alone and have to go through the waiting for help all by yourself. Faith trumps circumstances every single time. And by faith you know that God is an ever present help in time of need. You know by His Word that you have no reason to fear and no reason to doubt. You may think you have to make decisions on your own but God’s Word is His bond. He promises to see us through all our situations. He declares that your help is in the Name of the Lord. He vows His care and that those who dwell in His presence are guarded, protected and walked with through any situation. You only have to pull out His love letters in the Word of God and take them in as Truth for your heart to be steadied and your mind to be at rest. In the meantime you also have precious gifts He has given you such as peace, joy, comfort, faith, patience and perseverance. These gifts are meant to be enjoyed and used daily.

Unlike my father who really was gone at times, our Heavenly Father is never away. You can trust Him to see you through every single day of your life. Whether you feel His presence or not, you can know His presence is with you if you have put your trust in Christ. You may feel He is gone because you have done something wrong. That is when you confess your heart to Him knowing that He hears and forgives. Keep short accounts with Him and trust His mercy and grace. When He seems silent, your faith is growing because you do not trust the circumstances but you are learning to trust the Lord. Hang ever closer to God when things seem so quiet. Hold onto God’s Word when things seem so stormy. Trust in His Word, walk in His precepts and expect His help always. He loves you and He’s for you and that’s why you know He won’t abandon you or walk away for all of your life.

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Psalm 9:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalm 94:14 The LORD will not reject His people; He will not abandon His special possession. NLT

Psalm 91: 1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress. My God in whom I will trust!”

Psalm 119:14 You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope. NLT

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age