Failing Faith to God's Glory

What follows parallels the sermon I preached at UBC Mbarara on 16 July 2006 (all Bible quotes in ESV). Be forewarned; this may take a little time to read:

I had a money problem when I was in college. Actually I had two problems. The first was that I spent too much money. And when you have a problem with spending too much money what naturally follows is the problem of not having any money. When I started the second semester of my junior year I came to the realization that I would not have enough money to pay for everything. I did not have enough money in my bank account nor would I have a paycheck coming for another month as I was still waiting for Intramural Sports, for whom I worked as a referee and supervisor, to get started again after the Christmas holiday.

I worried greatly. I could not see where the money would come from. I could see that even when Intramurals kicked back into gear I would not be making enough. I knew I was already a great financial burden on my parents and did not want to burden them further. And in that situation my faith failed. With no provision in sight I failed to trust that God would provide.

Fortunately, however, though my faith had failed God provided nonetheless. I went to my parents and they were able to provide a little more money. God showed me ways I could cut down on my spending. Within a few weeks I found another job at a local sporting goods store, increasing the number of hours I could work in a week and allowing my parents to go back to their earlier level of assistance. It didn't matter that I had not trusted in God to provide; He provided for me regardless.

Money was still tight up until after graduation, though. God had provided and would continue to provide and yet there would still be minor crisis times. Sometimes my faith would hold strong and I would trust that God would provide; others my faith would fail and I would be overcome by worry and doubt. Yet every time, no matter what happened with my faith, God would provide, be it through an unexpected bonus at work, an unsolicited check from Grandma, or whatever else. I remember one time in particular my aunt visited me and when she was leaving she gave me $40 and said to use it for groceries or whatever else; little did she know that I had been wondering how I would eat for the next couple of weeks and needed exactly $40 for groceries. God always provided.

It's not unlike what we see with the Israelites in the early days of the Exodus. With 10 miraculous plagues, pillars of cloud and fire, the parting of the Red Sea and the defeat of the Egyptians God leads His people out of Egypt and into the Wilderness. And in those first months in the wilderness we see them tested three times with situations where God's provision seems to run out. Every time their faith fails. Every time they fail to trust the God will provide. Every time God provides for them anyway.

And it's not unlike situations that we see in our own lives and the lives of others day after day. We all go through difficult times. Sometimes our faith stands strong and others it fails. And whether our faith holds firm or wavers God always carries us through. And that's the point. God will lead you into difficult times so that when your faith fails He may provide grace to His glory and you should praise Him because of it.

Now this doesn't mean that every time God leads you into a difficult time your faith is going to fail. There are certainly times when we are faced with overwhelming challenges to our faith and by His grace alone God upholds our faith and we stand firm. But that's a sermon for another day. Today we're looking specifically at those times when our faith fails.

Take a moment to read Exodus 15:22-17:7.

It was obviously God who led the Israelites out of Egypt. It was through the 10 plagues that He freed them from their bondage. As they left Egypt they were guided by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When they came to the Red Sea it was parted and they were able to walk across on dry land. The pursuing Egyptian army was defeated by God alone. There was no doubt that God had led them out of Egypt in miraculous fashion, so when they come to the Wilderness of Shur and travel 3 days without water, there is no doubt that God has led them into this difficult situation. We see also in 17:1 that as the Israelites move from the Wilderness of Sin they are moving "according to the commandment of the Lord." And we know that as Moses is leading the people he is getting his direction from God. He is not just flipping a coin, heads takes us into the Wilderness of Sin tails does not.

Yet even if God had not demonstrated through miracles that it was He leading the Israelites out of Egypt, even if the people weren't moving forward by the direct command of God, even if Moses were just choosing his own way or casting lots, we would know that it is still God leading the people of Israel into these three difficult, trying times.

As for the coin flip example, Proverbs 16:33 says, "The lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the LORD." Perhaps the disciples had this verse in mind when they chose a replacement for Judas by casting lots. But this verse is not trying to say specifically that God controls lots. I mean certainly it is saying that the outcome of casting lots is determined by God, but we have to remember that it's a proverb. If I say "If it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck then it's a duck," you know I'm not just making a statement about how you can identify ducks. What this verse is saying is that even the most arbitrary of occurrences are not really arbitrary; rather, they are under God's sovereign control.

The Bible is clear that God is in control of much more than just that which is seemingly arbitrary or by chance. We see that even man's own steps are directed by God. Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of a man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Proverbs 20:24 says, "A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?" Jeremiah 10:23 says, "I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps." And much like with lots or ducks these passages are not just speaking of steps but of every action taken by man, and not just particular men, like Israel, but all men.

In fact we know that God is in control of everything. Ephesians 1:11 says, "In him [Christ] we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him [God] who works all things according to the counsel of his will." It may be one of the more controversial beliefs in Christendom yet it is one of the most pervasive and plainly-worded in the Bible: God is sovereign and is in control of all. Everything happens according to His purpose and His will.

This is even the case with difficult times and bad situations. Joseph was taken by his brothers, thrown in a pit to die, and then sold into slavery. He became the head of his master's household only to be falsely accused of rape and was subsequently thrown into an Egyptian jail. He languished in jail for years, and keep in mind that an Egyptian jail wouldn't have been quite as nice as even developing world jails today. And yet what does he say to his brothers when it's all said and done: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Genesis 50:20). Not "you meant evil but God used it for good anyway." God had an intention, a purpose in Joseph's years of suffering, not a reaction that took a bad situation and turned it to good. God led Joseph into slavery and jail for the sake of saving His chosen people from starvation.

We see the same idea in Job. God asks Satan if he has considered His servant Job, and Satan basically says "Of course Job is going to follow You; You've given him everything." So God first allows (Job 1:12) Satan to take away everything that Job has but not to inflict Job himself. So the Sabeans take Job's oxen and donkeys and kill his servants, the "fire of God" (1:15) falls and burns up his sheep and more servants, the Chaldeans take his camels and kill even more servants, and a great wind brings down a house, killing all of Job's sons and daughters. And what does Job say? "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21). The Bible then goes on to say in 1:22 that "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." So Job has lost EVERYTHING and it was taken away by God!

That's not enough for Satan, however. He requests God to allow him to take away his health and God allows for it. And we see that Job is struck "with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes" (Job 2:7-8). Not a lovely picture. Job's wife tells him to "Curse God and die" (2:9), and yet Job replies in verse 10, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (A quick translation note: the word translated "evil" here is referring to calamity and disaster, not moral evil). And once again the Bible tells us "In all this Job did not sin with his lips" (Job 2:10). Job is attributing this horrible situation wrought with pain and suffering to God, and in chapter 1 he even does so with praise!

Besides, it's not like when God said "have you considered my servant Job," He was surprised by Satan's answer. He didn't think "Oops, that didn't go as I thought it would. Never thought Satan would question why Job is loyal to me." He knew exactly what would happen. And He mentioned Job's name because of what He knew would happen.

And this isn't just in the Old Testament. Look at Acts 4:27-28: the Apostles are praying and they say, "for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." The people who were involved in the crucifixion of Christ were doing what God had planned and predestined for them to do!

How human freedom and God's sovereignty work out is something theologians have pondered for centuries (much as the doctrine of the Trinity was pondered for centuries), yet the Bible is plain and clear: God is in control of everything. Any situation you are in, good or bad, easy or difficult, joyful or sorrowful, God has led you into that situation. You are there according to His work, His purpose, and His plan. When the Israelites journey across the desert for 3 days without water, only to then come to water too bitter to drink, God has led them there. When they reach the Wilderness of Sin and have no food to eat, God has led them there. When they reach Rephidim and have no water to drink, God has led them there. When you lose your job and have no idea how you will provide for your family, God has led you there. When your children die in a car accident, God has led you there. When your spouse lies in the hospital dying of cancer, God has led you there.

And as bad as that sounds, there is incredible hope in God's sovereign control. I'm sure you are familiar with the words of Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Millions of people have clung to this verse in times of trouble and despair. But if God is not in control of everything then this verse isn't much comfort. If things happen outside of God's purpose and God's plan then there are no hope in these words. For then they would have to say "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope, and I really really hope that those plans work out, but I can't really know for sure." Where is the hope in that? Where is the comfort or the assurance in that?

But when you know that even the worst and most trying times in life are from God, you can know that His plans have not been thwarted. You can know that He will still provide, that He will still care for you, that His plans and purposes will still be fulfilled. You never have to wonder if something will get in the way of God's plans or if something has gotten in the way of God's plans. God's plan is God's plan and it will come to pass, and it will come to pass because nothing is beyond His control.

So when we read Romans 8:28, we can really know that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." We can know that even our most difficult times are from God, that He has a purpose and that He will carry us through. And we should praise God that even the most terrible things that happen in this world are under His control, because in that we know that He will prevail, that He will not be overcome, and that His glorious and loving plans for us will come to pass.

So we can know that in even the most trying of times it is God who has led us there. And the Israelites should certainly have known that it was God who had led them to their trying times. As mentioned before they had the plagues, the pillars, the Red Sea. When they came to the Wilderness of Sin they could look back at the bitter water turned sweet. When they came to Rephidim, where they showed the most anger and distrust, they could look back at the manna. And not only at the manna but also at the way in which it was provided. Every morning it appeared out of nowhere. When the people went out they would collect different amounts, some more and some less, and yet when they measured out the manna everyone had exactly the same amount. Furthermore each person was given exactly an omer, or about 2 liters, of manna, regardless of size or age. And even though different people generally require vastly different amounts of food to be full, 1 omer was sufficient for all.

Of course they didn't have to just look back at the manna. They ate manna every day. Six days a week they would go out and collect God's provision, 7 days a week they stuffed their faces with it. God's miraculous provision was obvious. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the people in their anger were even throwing their manna cakes at Moses. The Israelites had every reason to believe that God would provide and yet their faith still failed time and time again.

And we look at these people and think "Man are you dense. How stupid can you be?" But really are we any different? We may not have pillars of fire or the parting of oceans, but each of us can think back to times where God has provided for us, where God has proven that He loves and cares for us, and yet still when trials come our faith can falter. We are no different.

But why? Why do we fail to trust God despite such obvious and overwhelming evidence that He is trustworthy? (Other than the obvious answer of depravity, of course) Looking at this passage in Exodus I can see four different reasons that the Israelite faith fails in spite of their circumstances, the first three being problems of perspective.

First, their focus is entirely on the problem at hand (see Exodus 15:24, 16:3, 17:2-3). You cannot see the solution if you are only thinking about the problem. It's like if you come home from work one day and there is absolutely no food anywhere in the house. You begin to worry about how there is no food to eat. There is no food! What are you going to do! No dinner! Probably going to starve to death! You go to bed hungry but cannot sleep you are so worried about dying of starvation. The next day your friend asks you why you look so horrible. "I have no food so I'm desperately hungry and got no sleep last night because I have been worrying so much." So your friend asks, "Well do you have any money?" You reply, "Yes, I've got $200 in my pocket right now." You've been so focused on the problem of not having any food that you never thought about the fact that you have money to buy ample food right in your pocket.

A humorous example perhaps but we do often see our problems as so big that we cannot see anyway around them and we forget that God is far bigger than any problem we may have. So what can we do about this problem? The answer comes from Matthew. In the passage about not worrying (6:25-34) Jesus addresses two of the most basic needs people have: food and clothing. He says not to worry about them because God will provide. And He's not just saying "Don't worry about food and clothes if you have plenty because that's silly" but "Even if you have no food and no clothes, even if there is no hope in sight for either, don't worry about them." What does He say to do instead? "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). So when problems loom big don't focus on the problem; rather remained focused on seeking God's kingdom and God's righteousness and trust that He will provide the way through.

There was, however, one other thing that the Israelites were looking at: the past. But the problem is that they were looking at the wrong parts and in the wrong way. Look at Exodus 16:3: "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly by hunger." They've romanticized their days as slaves in Egypt! They are forgetting all the suffering they endured and are looking right past the miracles God has done for them! Not only that, but they're forgetting the reason they were in Egypt in the first place: food. They had no food in Canaan but God provided for them through Joseph. So even looking back at the food in Egypt they should be thinking, "Remember that food we used to eat in Egypt? Man did God bless us there, and I'm certain He'll do so again." They are looking at the past in a distorted manner that makes it look better than it was and ignores God's role in it.

And we do the same thing. In difficult times we think back to how things used to be, always forgetting any difficulties we had, always forgetting how God has grown us and changed us since, and never thinking that God providing good in the past is a sign that He will do so again in the future. It is not a bad thing to think about what has happened in the past, but in times of trouble we must do so with recognition of what God has done and the realization that it is proof of what He can do again. We must look back in a forward-looking way.

Which brings us to the last problem of perspective: the Israelites are not looking forward at all. Where are they going? A land flowing with milk and honey. Food and lots of it. They may be traveling through the wilderness but they are heading for the Promised Land. But the only future they ever see is "We're gonna die of either hunger or thirst." And we do the same thing: when faced with trying times we tend to look only towards the negative outcomes that seem to loom in front of us. We fail to hope in the glorious future that God has in store. For what does Paul say: "For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18). No comparison. Much as we see with the great men and women of faith in Hebrews 11, we must always seek our hope in heaven if we hope to pass through difficult times without our faith failing.

On top of their problems of perspective, the Israelites also failed to trust God's commands. We see this twice in regards to the manna. First, "Moses said to them, 'Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.' But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank" (Exodus 16:19-20). Then comes the seventh day. God has commanded the Israelites to collect twice as much manna on the sixth day so that on the seventh they could rest in observance of the . But "on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws'" (Exodus 16:27-28)?

Perhaps the Israelites were afraid that there would not be any manna the next day so they kept some overnight just in case. What would it hurt: if you have more the next day then you have more the next day, but if you don't then good thing you saved some, right? Perhaps that is also why they went out on the seventh day. Or maybe they were greedy or gluttonous, I do not know. But what is definite is that the Israelites failed to trust God's commands. But the thing is that even when times are most trying and when it seems to make more sense to break His commandments than to follow them, we must still follow. We must ALWAYS follow. It is better to go to jail for a crime you did not commit than to bribe your way to freedom, better to lose your job for a moral stance than to betray your convictions, better to starve than to steal to eat. One of the greatest victories Satan has had is convincing us that there are big sins and little sins, but the thing is that every sin is worth dying to avoid. We must not fail to see how horrible a thing any sin, even the "smallest" ones, truly are.

Yet even if we strive to apply the lessons learned from these four different failures of the Israelites, our faith will still fail. No matter how hard we try, difficult and trying times will come that will push us further than our faith can bear. In fact everything will fail: your faith, your strength, your money, your friends, your family, your spouse, your company, your church, your pastor...anything and everything will fail. EXCEPT for God. And if you have not yet experienced this, it is likely only a matter of time before God makes it evident to you. And as I said earlier when you come into that trying time when your faith fails, you know that God has led you there. In fact God has not only led you there, but He has led you there KNOWING that your faith will fail. And He not only knows that your faith will fail, but He leads you into that situation BECAUSE your faith will fail.

We know from the Bible that He knows every man's heart, it's every secret and thought and plan. We know furthermore that He knows everything, that there is nothing that He has not known. Nothing surprises God. Once again, to go back to Jeremiah 29, He does not say "I know the plans I have for you, but I never saw it coming that your child would get cancer, so that kinda wrecks my plans." He does not say "I know the plans I have for you, but I didn't really anticipate you joining the Marines and going to Iraq and losing your leg. Sorry about that one." He does not say "I know the plans I have for you, but how could I have ever guessed that you'd lose your job and have no idea how to feed your 4 children?" God knows what is going to happen; it cannot surprise Him. So when He leads you into trying times and your faith fails, He is not surprised: He saw it coming when He planned to lead you into those times in the first place.

It's much like the example of Peter's denial of Christ. Obviously God knew it was coming as Jesus told Peter that it would happen. And it's not like God had just suddenly figured it out, phoning in to Jesus at the Last Supper saying, "Hey, Jesus, guess what...my angels down in the intelligence agency just picked up that Peter is going to deny you three times. Crud. Can't believe I had you tell him he'd be the rock on which you establish your church." Before Peter was told he would be the rock on which the church was established, before Peter was called to be a disciple, before mankind was even created, God knew that Peter would deny Christ three times. So why call Peter? Why put him in the position where his faith would fail and he would deny Christ?

Easy. For God's glory. Peter was led into failure so that we might see in Peter's denial that even the most devout followers will fail if not upheld by God. Peter was led into failure so that God might demonstrate His grace by reinstating Peter and still using him as an Apostle. Peter was led into failure so that it would be obvious that every one of his successes came by God's grace alone. Peter was led into failure so that he might live the rest of his life dependent not on his own efforts, which he now knew would fail, but dependent upon the grace of God. Peter was led into failure so that as he was killed for his faith, crucified upside down as he did not consider himself worthy of being crucified in the same manner as his Lord, it would be apparent to all that the strength of his faith and conviction in the face of torturous death was not of himself but of God. Peter was led into failure for the sake of God's glory.

And it is the same with the Israelites in Exodus. When the Israelites grumble against Moses and God, failing to trust that God will provide them with food, it is clear from both Exodus 16:4-7 and 11-12 that God provides meat in the evening and manna in the morning so that "then you shall know that I am the LORD your God." By His own words He is not providing the manna primarily because they are hungry; in fact God never mentions them being hungry. He does not say "I will provide you food because I don't want you to die." He says that He will provide so that they will know that He is the LORD their God. He will provide for the sake of His glory, that He might be known and praised. Certainly the Israelites benefit from this. What most glorifies God is always also what most benefits us. God is shown to be their God by providing food for them to eat. But His primary concern is shown not to be their provision but His glory.

Exodus 16:4 provides some very interesting insight into this as well. God says, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not." And how does Israel do with this test? They fail. They keep manna over night and attempt to get more on the seventh day. They have proven themselves unable to keep God's commandments. And yet what happens shortly thereafter starting in Chapter 20? God gives Israel the Law. He gives them the Ten Commandments. He makes a covenant with them that establishes them as His people, entrusting them with the Law, the Prophets, and the Messiah.

We might look at this and think "God, what are you doing? You tested these people to see if they would uphold Your commandments and they failed! And now You are going to entrust THEM with the Law? You are going to make THEM Your chosen people? Are You thinking straight?" Furthermore we know that God knew they would fail. He knew they would break His commandments the very day He established His covenant with Abraham. And that's the point. They were supposed to fail. It was part of His plan. Because in that way, as He establishes His covenant with them, there is no doubt that they are His chosen people, not that He is their chosen God. There is no doubt that any extent to which they follow and preserve His Law is by His work and not their own. The Israelites are fail for His glory.

Deuteronomy 8:3 sheds even further light on what God is doing here in Exodus. These verses say, "He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." God led them to the Desert of Sin, lacking in food and full of hunger, so that His people might know that it is His grace alone that provides, His grace alone that preserves, His grace alone that protects, His grace alone that perseveres. God leads us into difficult times knowing that our faith will fail so that we may know that our faith cannot hold firm apart from Him, that our joy cannot be complete apart from Him, that we are utter failures apart from Him. God leads us into difficult times where our faith will fail so that we may know without a doubt the He alone is the solid rock on which we may stand. God leads us into difficult times where our faith will fail so that He may give us grace to His glory.

So what? I mean that's all well and good but what does it mean to you and me? First, never think that you have faith enough to force God to do anything. You don't. Sorry. Not possible. Even if you have faith that can move mountains that faith is not of yourself but of Him and He has given it to you by His grace.

Second, your faith cannot keep you from difficult times. You cannot say that Hurricane Katrina is the result of taking prayer out of schools. America would be every bit as likely to be hit by devastating natural disasters if every single person in the country were a devout Christian as it would be if every single person in the country were a devout Druid. In fact the likelihood of disaster would probably be even higher were such the truth. The Bible is clear that the call to follow Christ is a call to suffer and a call to spiritual war, and do you not think if there were such a place so solidly entrenched with believers that Satan would not assail it all the harder trying to cause people to fall? Job one of if not the oldest book in the Bible and its moral is clear: suffering can come to those who are blameless and upright because they are blameless and upright; it does not just befall the wicked.

Third, realize that all that you have is by God's grace. Every breath, every dollar, every friend, every memory, every opportunity, everything is given you by His grace. That mankind's existence continued after the very second that Adam and Eve ate from the tree is an act of God's mercy and grace. And when everything around you fails, when your friends and your family and your fortune and even your faith all let you down, know that even that is from God's grace. Cling to Him and to His grace and know that even when you lose everything, even your very life, his grace will still come. And even when you fail Him, He will not fail you: His grace will still come.

And know that everything I just said does not apply to you if you are not saved. The promises of God's grace are only promises to His chosen people. Sure there is an extent to which His grace and His mercy falls on all, but whether it happens in this life or thereafter, eventually it is not His grace that you will see fulfilled but rather His wrath. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." For those who love God and are called according to His purpose, not for all. So if you do not know and follow Christ I implore you to fall on your knees and beg God for His forgiveness and salvation. And if you are a follower and are overwhelmed by these promises of God, think about how life would be without them, and out of love go and share Christ with those who do not know Him.