Your Measure of Faith (#146 of 365+)

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter” (Proverbs 25:2)

Three of my favorite prayers are:
Lord, please tell me what you’re doing…
Lord, please tell me what you want me to do… and
Lord, (if you’re not going to tell me anything) please give me more faith!

To me, having faith is much like the wait during that excruciatingly long month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m like a child whose parents hid my Christmas presents really, really well: It’s just not fair. The wait is so long! I want to open my presents right now. I need to know what I’m getting! Can I at least take a peek at the packaging? I’ll be really careful so I won’t tear the wrapping paper. And I’ll still be really happy and surprised on Christmas morning. I promise.

Yeah, right.

Not knowing the specifics (the whats and whens) of God’s will is similar to waiting for Christmas morning. Even though I may cry and plead and fuss and pout (for just a little peek) God prefers to keep some things hidden from me for a while. I know it’s only in my best interest. It will develop my faith. As Joni said, “Great faith believes in God even when he plays his hand close to the vest, never showing all his cards. He has his reasons for doing so. God wants to increase your ‘measure of faith’ (Romans 12:3). He does this whenever he conceals a matter, and you trust him nevertheless!”

Faith isn’t the thing that grows. Faith is already fully mature. Jesus said if we possess faith we can move mountains. But little old me isn’t ready to use something that powerful. So God wants me to mature, to grow into it… practice using faith in increasingly greater increments all the time. That’s all I know for now. I trust he will teach me more as time goes on.

Lord, thank you for always thinking about me and what’s best for me. I know “such knowledge is too wonderful for me” to understand at this time but one day I “shall know fully, even as I am fully known”. I look forward to that glorious morning when everything will become crystal clear. In the meanwhile, may I learn to put my trust in you more and more every day. Thank you for the wonderful gifts you've already given to me. I pray that somehow I'll be able to glorify your name in the short amount of time I have in this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.