Even If

“I know You're able and I know You can

Save through the fire with Your mighty hand

But even if You don't

My hope is You alone

They say it only takes a little faith

To move a mountain

Well good thing

A little faith is all I have, right now

But God, when You choose

To leave mountains unmovable

Oh give me the strength to be able to sing

It is well with my soul”

-Even If, by MercyMe

It’s one thing to have faith in God. It’s another thing to have faith in what God can do. And yet, it’s another thing to have faith when God chooses not to do what He can do.

Faith isn’t just about believing in God, or believing that He can move mountains. Faith is believing in God and still believing that God can move mountains even when He doesn’t.

I’ve seen God move mountains, and in those moments its simple to have faith in what God can do.

 But, I’ve also seen heartbroken people begging and praying for God to move, but their situation doesn’t change, or it worsens. I’ve seen families torn apart, tragedies strike over and over again, stories of shootings and bombings on the news…It is those moments when it seems as if God hasn’t moved, that our faith starts to shake.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” –Hebrews 11:1

In those moments it’s hard to see or understand what God is doing, or even what God isn’t doing, will you still have faith? Will you still be confident in God’s power? Will you still have faith in what God can do? Will you be sure of who God is and what His plan is, despite how you feel about it?

One of my favorite stories in Scripture is when Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his own son. No questions asked, Abraham sets off with Isaac the very next morning to do what God asked him to do. I can’t imagine that Abraham could even fathom why God was asking him to do this, but having faith in what God could do, Abraham continued on. Abraham went as far as tying his son up to the altar, and taking out his knife to kill him. But then, God moved.

Abraham probably had absolutely no idea what God was doing, but he had faith anyways.

I don’t like not knowing. I question why God allows certain things to happen sometimes. I wonder why God chooses not to act when He does. I question God’s timing. My faith is small.

But I want to be like Abraham. I want to be a Christ-follower who has faith that God will act, even in uncertainty. I want to be someone who believes that God can move mountains, even when He doesn’t. I want to be someone who doesn’t have to know or understand what God is doing…Then, even when I don’t know— I will still have faith.

My challenge for you tonight is this:

Be like Abraham. And when you can’t find that kind of great faith within you, try to find even just a mustard seed of faith.

Stop trying to figure out the why, the why not, and the how come…even if it’s just for a moment.

Instead, rest and have faith. Find assurance in the truth of God’s goodness, even when what is going on in the world around you and in your life doesn’t seem good.

Even when God doesn’t act, have faith. Because even the littlest of faith can move mountains, and you never know when it will.

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” –Matthew 17:20