To the Point

Has God ever seemed unreliable to you?

As Christians, one of our greatest challenges is to trust God when it seems He is not meeting our needs. In these moments, we need to remember that we don’t measure God’s character or abilities by our perceptions as humans, but on spiritual evidence. By recalling the difficult times that we’ve overcome with prayer and faith in the past, we can stand in awe of a God who transcends our natural comprehension. If we are honest, we must admit that we will never fully understand the brokenness of this world—the poverty, death, or mass destruction. But we can teach each other to pray. We can share our testimonies, testaments of divine intervention. These stories of the Lord’s faithfulness to us and to our spiritual ancestors in the past serve as our proof that God is real and that God is good.

Tracie M. Hunter, Western Hills BIC, Cincinnati, Ohio

It’s an issue of fundamental belief in God’s word. Is God truthful? Is God trustworthy? Understanding is not the issue; believing is. Job 13:15 says, “‘Even if He slays me, I will hope in Him.’”

Darrell Smucker, Green Grove BIC, Spring Mills, Pa.

I would like to suggest three things. First, we must stop pretending that we can always make sense of things. The truth is, we will never make total sense of all that the Lord does and allows in our lives. As the prophet Isaiah says in 55:8, God’s methods and manners need not measure up to our standard of sense. Second, we should share our struggles with each other. Third, we must learn to walk by faith, not by sight—for hope, truth, and love will endure through times when life does not make sense and even when the Lord seems to have let us down.

Dan Longmore, Marsh Creek BIC, of Howard (Pa.)

When Jesus walked with us here on earth, He could have sent the world spinning around Andromeda. He could have suspended all pain, sickness, and death. This would, of course, have forced many to believe in Him. But that’s not the kind of relationship God desires with His fallen image-bearers. He was tired. He wept. He got exasperated. God did not spare Himself from the heartache and suffering of humanity. Likewise, we don’t get a free pass when we accept Christ’s salvation, but we are promised peace and joy. There is also the hope of another coming reality, one that will be both perfect and perfectly reliable. 

Larry Olson, Light of Christ Fellowship, Des Moines, Iowa