Sharing this article and what I originally wrote on July 30th about how faith perseveres. While I did not know at the time that I had less then a month left on earth with my lovely wife, the message that I wrote below exactly 30 days ago is even more true now. Trials often shake peoples’ belief that God is all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing, and all-sufficient. Yet, I know each of those to more real today than I did even yesterday. Paul said in 1 Cor. 15 that if Christ is not risen then our faith is in vain and we as Christians ought to be pitied. However, Christ has risen again so we have absolute assurance of His promises of our eternal home and our own resurrection one day. This trial has not shaken my faith – it has deepened and strengthened as a refining fire. (1 Peter 1:7) My grief and sorrow of loss is strong, but God’s grace is far stronger.
“So it is with faith — it grows strong with use and it dies with disuse. And the use for which faith was primarily designed was what? A new life of joyful obedience.” – John Piper
This is so very true. Many people ask how we can endure joyfully in the midst of trials? It’s because the Lord has been gracious and merciful to allow us to grow our faith over the course of our lives and our marriage. When we rested in God’s love and sovereignty in the past during our 3 miscarriages or other major health challenges, it grew our faith each time. We made a conscious choice then and now to preach the truth of God’s Word to us and to reject the fears and worries that inevitably come. That doesn’t mean we didn’t struggle to do that; we certainly did at times. We would then call to remembrance all the blessings God has shown us and His saints throughout history. God has and will continue to provide for all our needs because our greatest need isn’t even health or anything else in this world; it’s becoming more like Christ and bringing glory to His name. In our case God is orchestrating that through these trials to which we can submit with joyful obedience.