Running Out of Faith

How long can you wait on God for that one thing before you conclude with a shrug "I guess God does not want me to have it else, He would have done it by now"?

Are you like Abraham in the Bible who believed God's promise to him about having a child and then decided to "help God" by finding an alternative and then came back to trusting the words of God. The life of "father Abraham" can be found in the book of Genesis 11 through 25. At the time of his call, father Abraham (called Abram at that time) was 75 years old without an heir but with numerous servants and wealth (Genesis 13). His wife, Sarah (called Sarai at that time), would have been around 65 years old and had no child to her name. However, in Chapter 15 of Genesis, God made a promise to Abram after Abram "challenged" God that a servant born in his house would be his heir. God then made the promise to him telling him he was going to have a child who would be his heir.(Genesis 15:4). We see how Abram believed and it was accounted to him as faith (Genesis 15:6). However, along the line, he must have started having doubts of God's promise to him especially in what form it would come so that when Sarah suggested him taking her servant Haggai as a "wife", he didn't think much of it as he must have thought "God only said a child from my own body, He didn't necessarily say from Sarah's body too" thus he tried to "help" God by speeding things up. However, God in His infinite mercies showed up to and for him, reassuring him that Ishmael, the child Haggai had for him was not the fulfilment of His promise to him but the child whom his wife Sarai shall conceive (Genesis 17). In Genesis 21 however, we see God fulfilling His promise/covenant by blessing the couple with their son of promise, Isaac.

Or are you like Joseph who believed God's visions of him even at his lowest point when it seemed like these visions will never come to pass? (Genesis 37,39-41).

I like Abraham trusted God (only not as long as Abraham did) for one thing for a while and even started doubting if it was ever going to happen. My small mind started thinking maybe this is too "huge or tough" for God to do, let me make it simpler. Now for over a year, neither the supposed tough one or supposed simpler one had been done and I just started losing faith. And instead of having faith and trusting God, I began having wishful thinking concerning it. And I didn't realise it early enough (until someone drew my attention to it), I became "a realist" and started finding it hard to believe God even for the simplest things. I'd rather take a "realistic" approach to it.

But thank God for surrounding me with few yet deliberate men. I was able to call myself to order and I'm working on trusting and hoping on Him and His promises again. Now I'm not saying believers shouldn't be realistic, I am however saying in all things trust God and give room for Him to move, for miracles.

And even though I am yet to receive that one thing I'm trusting God for, I've decided to continue to dream as big as I used to with a faith as big as at when I started dreaming, knowing I cannot receive from God without it (James 1:6-7) and there's nothing too hard for God to do (Jeremiah 32:27) and finally that anything devoid of faith is sin to God (Romans 14:23).

Watch this space 'cause I'd be back to share my testimony soon.