A weekly reflection from a member of the Hastings clergy Written by Pastor Randy Berg of Calvary Church

When your Faith is tested

Faith can be confusing. We have faith in objects, that they will do what they are supposed to do. We sit in a chair having faith it will support our weight. We have faith when we cross a bridge that it will remain intact. We have faith that an airplane will fly and the list goes on. When we talk about having faith in God I think there are other factors involved. Faith in God first of all means we believe that He exists. Faith in God means we believe that he is knowable and wants to have some kind of relationship with us. Now comes the fork in the road. Some people feel if we have faith in God then we are protected from bad things happening to us, so if something tragic does happen then we decide to not believe in God anymore. Or we blame God and remain upset with His lack of intervention. Others believe that faith in God does not exempt us from problems or tragedy but gives us confidence that He has not abandoned us but will give us strength to get through it. James 1 tells us to considerate it pure joy whenever you encounter trials of many kinds because they are testing the level of our faith. Am I able to trust God in this? Can I believe that He knows all about what is happening and will make something good come out of it? Faith says, Yes. I don’t know why but I believe God will help me persevere. James goes on to say that perseverance leads to maturity. Maturity is recognizing I don’t have all the answers but that’s ok because I know the One who does. Are trials easy to go through? Not for me! It is hard to have faith when you are right in the middle of something difficult. But let’s persevere. Let’s keep on trusting. Keep on believing that God hears and that he always answers. Do you need prayer for something you are going through right now? Send me a confidential email. [email protected] comcast.net. God cares about you more than you will ever know. Have faith in Him.