Faithful? Trusting? Belief? What do they mean?

God is faithful.  Do you know it?  Do you feel it?  Do you believe it?  If I take myself out of the equation, because I filter things, or maybe I should say I unknowingly allow Satan the invitation to filter my thoughts, then, and only then does it seemingly make sense to me.  God promises and He delivers, no ifs, ands or buts.  The problem is my thought processes are limited and therefore when things don’t get done the way I think they should be done, or in the time frame I believe to be sufficient, I am left in doubt.  Too often I believe we set ourselves up for failure.  We also set God up.  Do we pray for silly things as proof of God’s love and devotion to us?  Definition of silly things – winning a game (either ours or our favorite sport’s team), passing a test when we haven’t put in the work of studying for it, expecting to win the lottery and therefore not working to be financially sound, can you add to the list? 

God is faithful to me daily for all the little things I overlook each and every day.  I have my health, loved ones, a roof over my head, food to eat, and so much more.  I take these things for granted expecting more and yet, when I stop and think about all that I do have and then think of those less fortunate than I, I am ashamed.  God gives us life, not problem free life.  Problems are our way of growing in life.  On Sunday, I heard through Joel Osteen about palm tree strength.  In a storm, a palm tree bends over to a point where it might even touch the ground.  In this state somehow its roots are strengthened, whereas an Oak might just uproot and fall.  After the storm, the palm has “bounce back” technology built in, and when it stands upright, it is stronger than before.  Now, as we face our problems, don’t we also share in that bounce-back ability? 

So, if we are challenged with difficulties – lack of health, addictions, financial difficulties, chronic illnesses either ours or our loved ones, does that mean God is not faithful?  I think I have a difficult time grasping bad things happening to good people; as well as understanding that we go through seasons.  I think we get our minds wrapped around negativity and can’t see the forest for the trees in regard to our blessings.  Our eyes get stuck on the moment and we choose not to see the big picture. 

It takes more muscles to frown than to smile and yet, we actively pursue the frown workout when we choose to stay stuck in negativity.  Does it feel good in this place?  It doesn’t for me, and yet I stay rooted here.  Why? 

Because we follow the path of least resistance.  Is it better to stay in the known “hell” than try to move out into the unknown?  We may believe this to be true, because we already know how to adapt to what we are experiencing and we fear the unknown. 

Last story – a man was hiking on a mountainous trail admiring the view.  He came to a treacherous spot and had a choice to make, go the easy, longer way or take the shorter more difficult route.  The man was secure in his abilities almost to the point of egomania, so he chose the shorter way.  As he is hiking, his feet slip and he finds himself dangling from a tree limb with his grasp weakening.  His time is short and his attempts of pulling himself up are futile.  Out of the blue, he calls to God for help.  God answers him, but first asks him a question.  The question was “Do you trust me?”  The man feels his grip sliding, but the question annoys him?  “God, I need your help now!  Not a lecture!”  God replies “Well, if you trust me, let go.”  The man now is angry and says “if I let go, I’ll fall and die!  How can I trust you with that being your answer?”  God says once again to him, “If you trust me, let go.”  The man, begrudgingly acknowledges his trust in God, feeling he doesn’t have a choice and he lets go.  When he does, he drops 4 inches onto a ledge.  The man didn’t see the full picture in his dilemma, but God did and does for each of us!  Do you trust God or are you and I only confident in what we know and see? 

I’d love to know what the man thought after this – did he feel tricked by God or was he grateful?  What would you feel?  Do we only know God in difficult times?  In good times is there no God?  Final thought – God admittedly states that He is jealous for our attention.  If the only time we think of Him is in our problematic state, might He be keeping us there to keep us near Him?  Hmmmm…..thought provoking to say the least!