John 16:22 – Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Do you find that some days you’re staring at your circumstances and making faithless judgments about the things you see? I know I struggle with believing the biblical truth that God is present in all circumstances, particularly when it is a no-good-dirty-rotten day.
Jesus, on the other hand, was certain about the reality of God and certain about God’s presence in His life.
Think about this: Heading into a crisis that would cost Him His life, Jesus was so certain of God’s presence that, during the Last Supper, not one of His disciples discerned the gravity of the circumstances! Jesus was confident that God was not only present, but also working through the circumstances.
And, yes, later that evening Jesus began sweating blood from the strain of it all, but He still remained confident that the Father was there and aware. He trusted God was working things out.
We, too, can be certain that God is working in our lives. We develop this radical faith when we learn to trust in God’s character, when we decide, in faith, that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.
We come to know that God is faithful when we do the things He tells us to do and then see that He did come through on His promises. In other words, we grow in faith by being faithful. We trust Jesus and see that He is real, and that makes us trust Him even more.
