Faith

It’s Not in Vain

June 19, 2013

Chris and I are reading a marriage devotional together. I’m not bragging about that, because we’re still working on it and figuring it out. But right now, when we can, we both read the One marriage devotional on YouVersion and then talk about it — lately, it’s been over Skype while we’re both at work.

Yesterday’s devotional was about the things we need to trust God for in our marriage. The author mentioned that he and his wife have seen thousands of answers to prayer over the course of their marriage. THOUSANDS. That’s… amazing to me. When we talked about the things we need to have faith for, we listed off things like parenting and our house hunt and our love life.

And then when I got home yesterday, there was a bill for just under $10,000 in the mail from Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Something has gone terribly awry with our insurance claims from last December for Mackenzie’s tooth, in spite of our diligent follow-up calls to both insurance companies and the hospital.

In moments like these, it’s so easy to forget the power of our faith, the power of prayer. It’s easy to forget that our God hears us, that He is working on our behalf. It’s so easy sometimes to lose sight of who is fighting for us, and the role our faith plays in each everyday moment.

In moments like these, sometimes you just want to throw your hands up, give up, forget about it, and just stop trying.

This is the verse I read from yesterday’s devotional:

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

But I didn’t see until this morning that there was actually a second verse. It is this:

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Do you believe that? He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

And without things to hope for, to believe for, it would be impossible to please God. Without things being just not quite right, or even going terribly wrong, what would we have to hope for? To pray for? To have faith for? How would we grow?

In this broken world, there is no shortage of things gone wrong. There is always a need for hope. And our hope is in Him.

And when we pray for those things that have gone terribly wrong, it’s not in vain that we ask. We can pray and ask in confidence because we know He hears us, and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The answers to our prayers may not always be what we want or what we expect, but we know that He hears, and He does answer.

I hope this encourages you today. I know it was something I needed to hear. What are you believing God for in your family?

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1 Comment

  • Reply Chris Wilcox June 19, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    Well said babe, I totally forgot about faith yesterday when we got that letter. Thank God it seems to be worked out, but from here on out, I’ll trust God with it no matter what

    [Reply]

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