Discovering God In The Faith Of Others

Faith is a gift from God, and having faith in Jesus may seem hard at first. But by making time each day for him and accepting guidance from God, you can do it. One way to build faith is to see God in the lives of others. God orchestrates the people we encounter and the relationships we build, so that he can use us to change lives. God is intimately involved in our lives, and there are no coincidences. We should not miss opportunities to connect with others and share our faith. We can do this by being a good example, showing love, and being a friend to others.

God is ever-present and all-knowing

The Bible teaches that God is omnipresent and omniscient. In Psalm 139, King David writes:

> O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways...Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into Heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.

This idea of God's omnipresence is further emphasised in Jeremiah 23:23-24, where God asks a series of rhetorical questions to highlight that He is always near:

> Am I a God who is near...and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?... Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?

The knowledge that God is ever-present can bring comfort and strength to those who believe. It means that we are never alone and that God will guide us through life's journeys, no matter where we go or what situations we find ourselves in.

Additionally, God's omniscience, or all-knowing nature, is also explored in the Bible. In Psalm 139:6, the psalmist acknowledges the infinite knowledge God has of each individual:

> Such knowledge is too high for me; it is too high, I cannot attain it.

Jesus also speaks of God's intimate knowledge of our lives, as recorded in Luke 12:7:

> Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Recognising God's omnipresence and omniscience can be a source of strength and comfort for believers, knowing that they are never alone and that God has a plan for their lives.

God forgives and forgets

It is natural to feel doubt and struggle with faith. Even one of Jesus' followers, Thomas, had trouble believing that he was seeing Jesus after his resurrection.

God forgives our transgressions. When we confess our sins to God, He lifts them off our shoulders and they disappear. David sought and received God's forgiveness. In the Bible, Jesus teaches us to pray, "Forgive us our debts" (Matthew 6:12).

God covers our sins. He puts them out of His sight. When David stopped trying to cover up his sin, God covered it.

God does not charge us with iniquity. He no longer counts our sins against us. God charges our sin to Jesus' ledger and writes Jesus' righteousness into our ledger.

God removes our sins from us. He washes away our guilt and cleanses us of our sins. He throws our sins behind His back so that He does not see them anymore. He sweeps away our transgressions.

God remembers our sins no more. When God forgives our sins, He forgets them. He chooses not to remember. He erases the board, destroys the evidence, and clears the computer.

God casts our sins into the depths of the sea. He nails our sin debt to the cross. He erases our sin debt and destroys the document on which our debt was recorded.

God's forgiveness and forgetfulness do not mean that He forgets in the human sense of the word. God is omniscient and forgets nothing. However, He can choose not to remember.

God doesn't waste anything

Romans 8:28 tells us that "all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose." Whatever we go through, God is using it for our good. God is mindful of us and is always actively seeking to do us good. Even what the devil means to harm us, God is orchestrating and reworking for our benefit.

In the Bible, we see that God didn't waste the tears of those who cried out to Him. For example, in Psalm 56:8, David writes, "You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?" God sees every tear we shed and is aware of our disappointments, discouragements, and heartbreaks.

God also doesn't waste our prayers. In 1 Kings 19, we read about the prophet Elijah, who was afraid for his life because of the wicked Jezebel's threats. Elijah ran away, prayed for death, and hid in a cave. God met him there and gave him specific instructions to anoint three different men as kings, who would then be used by God to kill Elijah's enemies. God used Elijah's prayers and struggles for his good and to accomplish His purposes.

Additionally, God doesn't waste our pain and suffering. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, the apostle Paul writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." Our pain and suffering can be used by God to comfort and help others going through similar difficulties.

God also doesn't waste our lives. He has a plan and purpose for each of us, and He is powerful enough to hold together His fixed plan for our lives while also honouring our free will to make decisions. Our choices matter and influence the chain of events in our lives, but they do not ultimately determine our future. God is sovereign, and He wastes no part of our story. He is using every detail of our lives to speak to us and others, and to accomplish His purposes.

So, when we don't understand what we are going through, let's remember that God doesn't waste anything. He has a purpose in the things He allows, and one day, we will understand how He has worked all things together for our good.

God is intimately involved in our lives

Secondly, God has a plan for our lives and is working all things together for our good. He has prepared good works for us to walk in and has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. We can trust that He is in control, even when things seem tangled up. God's ways are perfect, and He will accomplish what He has promised. When we face challenges, we can have faith that God will work them out for our good and His glory.

Thirdly, God is a faithful God who keeps His covenants and promises. He is not a man that He should lie, and He will never fail to fulfil His word. We can put our faith in Him, knowing that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Lastly, God is intimately involved in our lives through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and through Him, we have access to God. We can have a personal relationship with Jesus by spending time with Him, praying, and studying His Word. As we draw close to Him, He draws close to us, and we can experience His presence and guidance in our lives.

God is not stunned by our struggles

In the book of Job, God questioned Job because he acted as if he was equal to God. God asked Job:

> Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Job was not there when God laid the foundations of the world, nor was he there to help God. God didn’t need anyone’s help. Not only is he all-knowing, he is all-sufficient.

God knows everything about us, just like he knew everything about Adam and Eve. They were the first man and woman God created. Adam was made from the dust of the earth and Eve was made from Adam’s rib.

God is ever-present. He has promised he will never leave us. He says:

> Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

God is not surprised by any of our struggles or trials. He knows everything. He knows when we will be tempted to feel alone, perhaps when a loved one has died. But he is always with us.

God's ways are perfect. He doesn't think like we think. He tells us:

> As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

When something happens that we don’t understand, we need to remember that God’s ways are perfect. We may not understand how he will untangle our troubles, but he will.

When tragic things happen, putting faith in God means we believe, no matter how bad things look, that God will work them together for good. When God says he will work all things for good, there is no exception.

God forgives and forgets. In Romans 8:1, God explains there is no condemnation for those who have trusted Christ. God is not holding you accountable for the sin you are holding onto. In fact, the Bible says that Jesus is our intercessor. When the accuser, Satan, tries making us feel guilty, Jesus tells God, “Father, he/she believes in me.”

The promise God gives us is in Hebrews 8:12:

> God says he will remember our sins no more.

God is there for us in our struggles. He is not stunned by them, and he is not surprised by them. He knows us, and he knows what we need.

We can pray to him, and he will answer. We can read his word, and we will find comfort and guidance. We can trust in him, and he will provide.

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