Jesus never intended faith to be a weapon wielded against the vulnerable or helpless with ridiculous phrases, such as: If you had more faith, the better result would’ve happened!

God is not our personal genie, dispensing health and prosperity to those who rub him the right way. When he tells us to pray, it’s with the understanding that our faith rests in the integrity and goodness of God, not whether he handles a situation the way we wanted him to.

Faith is not a formula where you have to say the right thing to get the rest right result. God knows what we were really asking even when we’re far too broken and frantic piece the “right” words together.

I know our faith is not the only piece in the equation, because Jesus once healed someone who didn’t even know who he was. (John 5:1-13) That man had faith in a formula, and was frustrated that no one could put him in this pool that seemed to contain his healing. And that just shows that sometimes God’s compassion moves him to heal (even those) who don’t know the beauty of what’s about to happen.

Faith is not a blank check you can cash in at will. It’s not a free pass to avoid life’s most challenging moments.

Faith is a lead line at tethers you to the heart of God so when the world crumbles around you, you still know he’s good in spite of at all.

Faith is embodied in the actions of three young men who looked a king in the face and boldly declared, we recognize you have the power to kill us and maybe you will, but whether you do or don’t, we’re not going to bow down to worship your idol. (Daniel 3:16-28) They didn’t feel their faith was validated by avoiding death because their faith wasn’t resting in the outcome of that one moment, it was resting in the knowledge they were held in the hands of a good God who would care for them either way.

I like to call it resilient faith.
Resilient faith can look past the veil of mortality and see that this life is too short, this world is too small to contain all that God truly desires to give.

Do I believe in prayer? Yes.

Do I believe in healing? Yes.

But I believe in God more. I believe that the God who holds all things together is holding us as well. I believe that even when the thing we wanted most is taken away he is still our ultimate treasure. I believe the heartache this world holds will be easily outweighed by the kindness God has prepared for those who love him. Our life is a vapor: it’s here and then it’s gone. Our eternal life is a hurricane, wild and furious, with kindness and beauty beyond our finite ability to fully comprehend.