Maturing Faith
Tony Cooke
As a twenty-year-old Bible school student in 1979, I was amazed as I learned about faith. I was hearing and reading a myriad of powerful Bible verses, and was thrilled with the unlimited possibilities that faith can bring. Then, one day, my bubble burst. In one of his classes, Kenneth Hagin said, “The crises of life come to us all.” From my twenty-year-old perspective and understanding, he had just contradicted everything I had been learning and I had to put that particular comment on the shelf for a season.
At that stage of my life, I did not know how to reconcile his statement with what I had been learning about faith. I was under the impression that if you really had faith, you were essentially immune from all the ills of this world. In addition, a person of great faith could prevent all negative circumstances and control every outcome in life. In my naïveté, I was a bit dismissive toward Brother Hagin’s statement.
A few months later, my perception of faith was challenged again. This time, it was a guest speaker, Roy Hicks, who served for many years as the general supervisor of The Foursquare Church. Before he spoke, he advertised his new book entitled Ready or Not, Here Comes Trouble. I immediately resolved not to buy that book, and once again, I was shocked at what I thought was negativity and unbelief coming from a “faith” pulpit.
Over the years, I came to realize that what these gentlemen were sharing was really a mature faith — a realistic faith. It took in a comprehensive view of Scripture, not just a few isolated verses (as wonderful and powerful as those verses are). It’s easy to have a hyper-idealistic view of faith that essentially says, “Because I believe God, I will never face problems.” Whereas a more mature faith acknowledges that “God is with me, empowering and helping me, no matter what I may encounter in life.”
Regrettably, believers sometime resemble the “stony ground” hearers Jesus described. “They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.” (Mark 4:17 NLT). How many of us know people who have turned away from what is called “the faith message” because they were hit with a major life crisis, did not receive a quick answer to prayer, or did not experience a favorable outcome to a situation?
Faith is far more than receiving a specific, desired outcome. Faith is trusting in God regardless of the situation or the outcome. Consider Habakkuk’s faith. In the same book where the prophet wrote “the just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4), he also stated:
Even if the fig tree does not bloom and the vines have no grapes, even if the olive tree fails to produce and the fields yield no food, even if the sheep pen is empty and the stalls have no cattle—even then, I will be happy with the LORD. I will truly find joy in God, who saves me. The LORD Almighty is my strength. He makes my feet like those of a deer. He makes me walk on the mountains (Hab 3:17-19 GWT).
Paul regularly faced attacks and had what we would call “unfavorable outcomes,” and yet his attitude of faith seems to parallel that expressed by Habakkuk. After mentioning, “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword,” the apostle wrote
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:35, 37-39).
Notice that Paul said “we are more than conquerors in all these things.” He didn’t say that his faith exempted him from experiencing these things.
Delivered From, In, or Through?
Our ideal perception of “deliverance” might be that we never face anything negative, but is that consistent with Scripture? I want to look at some of the phrases the Bible uses relative to us being “delivered.” You will note that they don’t all look the same — they don’t all paint the same picture.
- Sometimes deliverance “from” implies prevention or an avoidance of the problem.
And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand (1Sam 23:14).
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings (Psa 17:8).
For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock (Psa 27:5).
Think of the Passover, when the children of Israel were completely protected from the scourge that affected the Egyptians. They were spared the consequences others experienced. We can also remember Jesus as a child, when he was untouched in spite of Herod’s murderous intentions.
- Often deliverance “from” implies an extraction from a problem someone was in.
Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you” (1 Sam 10:18).
So the LORD said to the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistines? (Jud 10:11).
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses (Psa 107:6).
In these cases, the people were under the oppression of, or were suffering under a situation, and God got them out of it.
- Sometimes deliverance happened “in” the midst of a potentially dangerous situation.
Consider what happened with Daniel and his three friends.
If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king (Dan 3:17).
And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Dan 6:20).
He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions (Dan 6:27).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fiery furnace, and Daniel went into the den of lions. They were in the situation, and their deliverance came while they were in it.
- Sometimes deliverance involves going “through” a situation.
What could be more clear about this than the following three passages?
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me (Psa 23:4).
We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance (Psa 66:12).
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you (Isa 43:2).
Unconditional Trust
I always urge caution in using the book of Job to establish doctrine. He did not appear to have Scripture, nor was he necessarily part of Abrahamic lineage. At the end of the book, Job recognized he had said many things that he did not understand and repented (Job 42:3-6). Then God said that Job’s friends did not know what they had been talking about either (Job 42:7). In other words, a good bulk of the book of Job is a theological argument between four people who we find out did not know what they were talking about. We should interpret Job using later revealed truth in Scripture, especially the New Testament.
While some mock and make fun of Job, we should realize that his resources and revelation were greatly limited, and that he was in intense grief. The Talmud says, “Hold no man accountable for what he says in his grief.” While I know that Job made many erroneous statements, I admire his heart and consecration behind a particular statement even though it contained a wrong concept.
In Job 13:15, he says, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.” First, God was not trying to slay Job. Second, he was still intent on justifying himself. These are problematic. But in spite of misunderstanding God’s nature, and in spite of his own personal stubbornness, Job expressed unconditional trust. This is admirable. Even though he wrongly thought God was his problem, he said, “yet will I trust in Him.”
There is a trust that passes understanding (Pro 3:5). There is a peace that passes understanding (Phil 4:7). When circumstances or outcomes are favorable, love and trust in God, and do the same if circumstances or outcomes are not favorable. Love him, trust him, and serve him in all things and at all times.
