Faith Faces Facts

I recently heard this line from David Pawson, "Faith is not faith if it cannot face the facts. Faith faces the facts, and rises above them."

I find this completely true. Sometimes, faith that ignores the facts is really just a shallow faith. This kind of faith when faced with the harsh realities of life may become completely shattered.

I think this is why we sometimes lose our faith — when we have believed certain truths about God but we believe them independent of the realities of life that seemingly contradict those truths.

For example, a man may have believed all his life that "God is good". But the day he sees the senseless killing of innocent life, his belief may begin to quake, and if he’s not helped, it may shatter.

Similarly, a woman may believe firmly that, "God hears prayers", but in a time her mother is dying of cancer, and she cries out to God for healing and her mum still dies, her faith in God may be seriously shaken.

Like David Pawson said, I think true faith is faith that doesn’t live in denial or ignorance of reality but believes, inspite of reality.

We believe God hears prayers even when it seems our prayers weren’t heard. We believe He is in control even when our world is spinning out of orbit. We believe He is good even when an innocent man is brutally murdered on a cross.