Got Faith ?

What does it mean to have faith in God? As we pray for our dear grandson Owen in ICU and for our dear friend Andrew who is fighting cancer how does faith help us? We also pray for the victims of the terrible bombing of the Boston Marathon that they will experience faith in God. I believe that our Lord is with our loved ones when they suffer. Our Lord is not a distant Creator who has left us to face the hard times alone. In Matthew 28:20 the resurrected Lord says, "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." He suffers with us and bears our burdens with us. I need to remember this. I trust that our Lord is with us in a caring and committed way. The apostle Paul confidently states in Romans 8:31-32, "If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" The Lord is for us! He knows our needs and is helping us. He wants to give us His generous help if we ask. I have confidence that our Lord has the power to heal and redeem. He is able to deliver us from whatever comes against us. He is the Living Lord who works for the good of those who trust and serve Him. Paul says this well in Ephesians 3:20,"Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory." I trust that our Lord is working behind the scenes when we endure suffering to bring good out of it. There is a gift in the grief when we keep loving the Lord no matter how hard it gets. The Apostle Paul speaks with conviction in Romans 8:28,"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." It is my view all people are called to do His purposes and His love is with us in a special way as we seek to do His will. Finally my faith in God rests upon the greatness of His wisdom. My little mind can not understand the big picture of life. Only the Lord can see how things work together for our good. We do walk by faith and not by sight. In my prayers I do not tell God what to do. Only He can decide what is best. How little we really know in comparison to the Maker heaven and earth. Paul praises God's wisdom in Romans 11:33,"O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways." My hope is not in the amount of faith I have. My faith gives me strength because I place it in the Eternal Love, Power, Nearness, Wisdom and Victory of our Lord Christ. This is not just thinking positive. It is placing my hope in the Eternal One.