Cancelled Flights and a Floundering Faith

I'm kind of tired tonight and I had a fairly long week and a half. I won't complain a whole lot but I want to share something that God taught me, especially in the past two days. I don't really trust Him. I mean I trust God but don't really TRUST Him. Now I don't have a big life-changing challenge that brought me to this revelation, just a small series of struggles, fears, and setbacks.

So, it's Friday at 1 PM and I'm planning to fly to Philadelphia to pick up my fourteen year old daughter. My flight leaves at 4 PM. I log onto notthebestairline.com to check the status of my fight. "Flight 2731 CANCELLED". Ugh! So I pick up the phone and wait thirty minutes on hold listening to the "Not The Best Airline theme song". I spend the next fifteen minutes trying to speak rationally to an automated attendant who can't understand my request for a human agent. Finally I get routed to a very unhappy woman who told me that I wasn't going anywhere that night. I felt myself becoming frustrated, angry, and then it hit me: Was God aware of this situation? Did God say that, "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose"? If I have been walking with Him, am I not under his divine care? A peace came upon me and I thought, "It's all good, God is in control and it's all for a purpose." I pick up the phone and call the robotic attendant and work my way to a much nicer man who tells me, "Of course I can get you to Philly. I'll put you on amuchbetterairline.com and you'll be there on time!"

Well, aren't I good! See how my really good faith worked out! I am growing in my faith! I make the flight, land in Philly, walk to the hotel, get to my room and plug in my laptop. I log onto notthebestairline.com to check my return flight in the morning with my daughter. "CANCELLED"!!!! OK David, keep it together. God is in control, remember? Breathe. I'm good here. I'll just call the robot guy again and we'll get this all worked out. Half an hour on hold, fifteen minutes with Robot Joe and finally to a real guy who tells me that even though the flight was booked through his airline it was being served by anevenworseairline.com and that I'd have to work it out with them. Dial the new number, wait fifteen minutes on hold then get to speak to a lady who must have been having a worse day than I was. She told me that guy number one was wrong and she then preceded in the middle of my sentence to forward my call back to the first airline. Twenty more minutes on hold then I decide to pick up the cell phone and call unhappy lady number two (have I lost you yet?) while I'm on hold. I get a nicer lady this time who told me she could fly me to Denver and then back to Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you have a map, you may want to draw a line from Philly to Denver then to Grand Rapids. I could walk to Michigan faster!

Now I'm forgetting that I am a Christian and I want to go to the airport and spray paint "Don't Fly Me" on the side of their airplane. Then it hits me. I don't really trust him. Every time I think I do, he lets me get in just a bit deeper, and time and time again I break. I can hear his voice,"David, do you trust me when it seems like things aren't going right? Do you trust me when you can't make sense of things? David, learn to trust me." I calm down and put down the can of spray paint (OK, I didn't really have the can of paint). I get on Travelocity and in three minutes find two one-way tickets to Grand Rapids for way less than my phone bill. Done deal.

In the morning I get on the plane with my daughter and for a few minutes it gets a bit bumpy. "David, do you trust me now? What if the plane goes nose down?" Here is the thing. I'm not saying that we shouldn't have emotions but either God loves those he has redeemed or he doesn't. Either God is all powerful and in control or he isn't. You know what, the turbulence was OK. My heart felt OK and I heard what Moses heard from the Lord, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." I cried out to Jesus the same words spoken by a man who had a boy with evils spirits, "I do believe; help me overcome by unbelief!" God is working on my faith. He is weeding out unbelief in me and I don't like the process. But it is good! Really good.

Now, I understand that cancelled flights and poor customer service isn't cancer or a repossessed home but if God isn't in control in the small things how in the world can we trust him when our world comes apart? God also has a way of putting us in our place when we need a fresh sense of perspective. As I was going through security I met a man with a prosthesis for a left leg and a large scar on his left arm. We chatted and he told me of how the IED exploded near him in Iraq and blew his leg off then the insurgents tried to finish him off with a rifle shot to the arm. He told me that the explosion that took his leg didn't hurt but the gunshot to the arm hurt like heck. He spoke with a humble smile and a sense of pride and joy. I thought to myself, "God, please give me a faith to believe even if it ever gets that bad." I thanked the man for his service to our country and then thanked God for the lesson.

Peace and faith (real, "I know God is in control" faith),

David

How Big is a Mustard Seed?

per-func-to-ry

-adjective

1. performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial

2. lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent

I was recently told about a leader of a "Christian" organization who felt that prayer was "perfunctory and meaningless". It kind of made me mad! Dang it! How could he say such a thing!? But, be careful David when you chuck a stone in a glass house . . . you could see your own walls come crashing down. God has shown me something recently and I have to tell you up front that the first accusatory finger gets pointed at me. I didn't like what this man said but you know what, at least he was honest. Prayer to him was a thing "performed merely as a routine duty" so why bother. He said out loud what I think many people feel but don't admit. Whether you're a believer or just visiting today (not an accident by the way) I'd like you to hear me out. I pray, but then go about my business as if I didn't.

Jesus' disciples had tried to cast a demon out of a young man and were unsuccessful (yes, a demon. Jesus believed in them and he spoke to them so they must exist. Sorry, for the detour.) So, Jesus "rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment." The disciples were like "What the heck!" Actually they said "Why couldn't we cast it out?" Jesus replied, "Because you have little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

"So, how big is a mustard seed?", you ask. Ever seen a poppy seed in a muffin or on a bagel? Well, a mustard seed is about 1/3 the size of the poppy seed. Apparently, this is still quite big because we still struggle with faith. I was at an outdoor event last night and the forecast was kind of ominous; good chance of rain and thunderstorms. So, I prayed that God would hold back the rain. I think many people prayed that God would hold back the rain, but most of those people brought umbrellas. I felt in my spirit that it wasn't going to rain but my feeble and fickle brain said. "Man, that sky is kind of grey! Better rent a tent! Pack the umbrella! OK, at least grab a rain jacket you fool!" Now, I wasn't testing God but maybe he was testing me. OK Lord, no tent, no umbrella, no rain coat. Rain stayed away and it began to rain only as I was leaving the event. Now, I know this could be coincidence but I don't think so. This is the point: If we don't really believe then why bother? Why waste our time and our breath? The man I told you about didn't really believe in miracles so he didn't pray nor did he allow that kind of thing in his meetings. He never saw God move because he never really believed. So, he gave up on prayer and faith. We pray for financial breakthrough then we speak words of defeat. We pray for healing then we aim our focus on the abnormal lab values. How big is a mustard seed? Apparently, quite big.

Now, listen to me please. God is still God and God is still the boss. Not because he is on an ego trip but because he created all that is, all that ever was, and all that ever will be. The Bible talks about praying "according to the Father's will" so when I say, "Lord, I want to win the lottery" chances are that he knows it would be a VERY bad thing for David to have 25 million dollars. God's answer, "NO!". Does God always give us what we want? No. Thank you God! But how often do we really, really, really, trust him. I wonder how many miracles we we've missed because we pray perfunctory prayers.

There is this scene in the movie "Facing the Giants" where this small, high school, back-up field goal kicker is asked to kick a 51 yard field goal into the wind during the last seconds of the state championship. The scene goes like this (paraphrased), "Coach, the longest I've ever kicked is a 39 yard field goal. There's no way I can make that." The coached asked him, "David, do you believe God can help you kick this field goal?" David answered, "Yes" The Coach responded, "Then you just give God your best and let him do the rest."

Friend, God made your amazing eyeball. He made hummingbirds, blue whales, galaxies, and your best friend. Do you believe he can heal your body, your bank account, your marriage, or your mind? If the answer is "no" or "not really" then the mustard seed might as well be a coconut. I believe that the God who raised Lazarus can still raise the dead and can still straighten crooked limbs. God is still in the miracle business and nothing is beyond his ability.

But, I also know that the Bible says "It is appointed man once to die then face the judgement." So God will eventually call each of us out of this life. Sometimes the answer will just be "No", "Not yet" or "Not in the way you want." I get that. I have a friend and wonderful man of God who has been wheelchair bound his whole life. He knows God can heal him but God is using him powerfully just as he is and he has shared with me that if he were cured, he would likely drift from God so he is content where he is. He is one of the most powerful deliverers of the Word of God I know.

So, what do you and I do about this? I'm going to borrow another scene from "Facing the Giants". A faithful man told the Coach the story of a drought and two farmers. Both farmers were diligent in their prayers, but only one prepared his field to receive the rain. Then he asked the Coach, "Which of the two men had the greater faith?"

I want to leave you with a couple questions. Are you preparing your fields to receive the answer to your prayers or are you mulling around in a dry field speaking words of drought and defeat? Are you kicking the ball and trusting God to get it though the uprights or are you saying, "There's no way!". I don't know what you are struggling with, but please begin to pray and trust. Then praise him if you win and praise him if you lose. I have begun to experience God's miracles in both circumstances. Praying in faith is not perfunctory but power. The power of the God of the universe! One last thing: My friend in the wheel chair told me today that if God chooses not to heal him in this life that one day his corruptible body will be made incorruptible and the first time he is actually able to kneel will be at the foot of his Savior. That is faith !!

Drop us a note if you need us to pray for you. You can trust that we will pray in faith.

In Him,

David