Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and He will direct your path(Proverbs 3:5-6).
My first foray into ministry was as a summer youth pastor in a small town in northern Vancouver Island. At 18 years old, I was filled with youthful enthusiasm and eagerness. I believed the summer ahead of me would be filled with majestic ministry and glorious times.
I believed that the church would be blessed through my ministry. In fact, in my youthful hubris, I saw spiritual revival emanating from my time there.
My summer, however, wasn’t what I expected.
Two days after I arrived, the pastor I was to be working with left for a two-month vacation, effectively leaving me by myself.
The car I drove up north broke down four times, and the repairs ate away all the money I was saving through this job. I moved from residence to residence, and, at one point, lived in the rusted old trailer on the back of a truck for three weeks.
I launched youth events and parish events that no one ever attended, where I was left alone in the church, staring at an empty parking lot for 90 minutes. On almost a weekly basis, I was close to packing it all in and going home.
Why? Because this life of ministry, and of faith, just wasn’t turning out like I expected it would.
Have you ever experienced times when the life of faith doesn’t match your expectations? Have you ever found yourself struggling because the way of faith doesn’t seem to be what you thought it would be? What do we do if we find ourselves in those times?
Here are three truths to remember when the life of faith isn’t what we expect.
1. The Lord Directs Us
It probably sounds overly simplistic, but we are called to trust that the Lord is leading us. This is hard when the path forward seems arduous or unclear. We see such a dynamic in Scripture.
For example, it didn’t take long for Israel to begin grumbling when the road to the Promised Land wasn’t as easy as they had thought.
On the heels of their grand liberation, Israel often grumbles over the lack of food, water, or comfort. Of course, before we unduly criticize them, we must recognize this tendency is one we can easily fall prey to.
It can be easy to view all the ways that our journey is not as we feel it should be, rather than recognize the path of salvation that lies ahead of us.
The call of faith is the call to follow the Lord, wherever he leads, even if we don’t know the way. Faith often calls us outside of ourselves, and the Lord sometimes moves us to the places where we are least comfortable. But it’s in those places where we uncover the powerful working of the Lord.
Even if your life with God isn’t turning out as you expected it to be at this moment, can you believe that as you continue to walk in faith, you can experience the Lord’s presence?
Can you look to the salvation that lies ahead of you, rather than the comfort or ease that lay distant in the past?
Trusting in the Lord demands that we keep our eyes forward, rather than backward. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, “Forgetting what lies behind, and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
If we keep our eyes on where God is directing us, then we will wade through such times in the confidence that comes from Christ’s unyielding direction.
2. The Lord Provides for Us
When we trust that the Lord directs our faith journey, we can further trust that the Lord provides for us. We are never left to ourselves; we are never divinely abandoned.
Yet, if our eyes are continually cast backward, then we will always see the hiccups, difficulties, or unmet expectations as evidence that something is wrong in our spiritual journey.
In doing so, we will inevitably fail to recognize what the Lord does in our midst, and the provisions which God provides.
Scripture is replete with evidence of God providing for God’s people. God provides clothing for the wayward Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21).
God provides quail and bread from the complaining Israel (Exodus 16:4), and Jesus affirms that we should not worry about our life, for our heavenly Father knows what we need (Matthew 6:31-33).
The Lord is resolute in his providence for his people. The providence of God for us is a truth of Scripture and a promise we can claim.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the path is always easy or straightforward. But even in those times, we can be confident in the Lord’s provision for us. This is the very purpose of praying for “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).
Just as Israel was given Manna each day of their journey to the Promised Land, we can trust that God will give us whatever we need in our walk of faith.
The past moments of God’s faithfulness testify to the fact that God is eternally faithful towards us. His providing for our needs is sure.
3. The Lord Is with Us
God is gracious and loving, merciful and compassionate. God provides for our needs and can do more than we can ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
But more glorious than any miraculous gift is the constant and unyielding presence of the Lord. When the path of faith seems unexpected, we can trust that God’s presence surrounds us.
Christian faith is not centered around an idea, a concept, or some elaborate plan, but a person. The “witness” of God is the foundation of who God is. God resides with us through all the ups and downs of our lives.
This is uniquely expressed in Jesus Christ, the word made flesh, dwelling amongst us (John 1:14). Jesus is the full manifestation of God, and his death on the cross testifies that there is no place in our lives where his love and grace does not meet us. His resurrection ensures that he is with us to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:20).
Jesus is the good shepherd who travels with us in quiet pastures and in darkest valleys. His glory encompasses us, before and behind’ there simply is no place in our lives where he is absent.
And so, we can look at the cross, whether it be at church, on our wall, or on a golden chain. We can look to the cross and remember that the one who was crucified is risen and has sent his Spirit to be with us. As Christian people, we can be confident in the Spirit’s presence in our lives.
What is known and familiar is often what is comfortable — but Jesus’ call in our lives isn’t to be comfortable — it is to follow him. And that means we might find ourselves walking along a path we did not expect.
But just because the way seems hard, or unexpected, doesn’t mean it’s not. We do not walk in the presence of the Spirit. In fact, it may just be that the path ahead of us is the very one that unites us more deeply with the Lord and unlocks future blessings within us.
So, take heart, dear Christian. If the way of faith is not what you expect at the moment, please stick with it. The present sufferings are nothing compared to the glories to be revealed in you, and through you (Romans 8:18).
For further reading:
How to Seize upon the Culture's View of Faith
What Happens When Our Faith Is Tried or Tested by Fire?
What Does the Combination of Faith, Confidence, and Hope Give Us?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Martin Dimitrov
