He Will Never Fail You

I’m not typically a woman of great faith. Great plans? Yes. I love nicely outlined goals within my control. But risk-taking, unpredictable leaps of faith? Not so much.

Then, a few weeks ago, all the challenges and hurdles of living on the other side of the ocean from my family and waiting on an adoption during a global pandemic crashed in on me.

Do we visit my parents during school break, accepting the seclusion and expense of quarantine? Do we subject our children to multiple COVID-19 tests? If we don’t, how long will it be before we can travel once our domestic adoption takes place? Years, most likely.

All the questions and what-ifs bared their fangs at me, threatening to poison my peace and joy. I had no idea what wisdom looked like in this situation. I was at a loss as to how to plan.

That’s when God doused me with four Bible stories and one song about faith over the course of barely two days.

Okay, Jesus. I think I get it. This isn’t about wisdom or making the right plans. It’s about trusting you big.

My spirit surrendered and my peace returned. But since then, I’ve been on a quest to increase my faith, which brings me to an entirely different type of wrestling.

Faith that Moves Mountains

I’ve just finished reading the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus directly mentions faith an incredible sixteen times. He commends some for their great faith, and chastises others for their lack thereof. He tells stories of faithful servants and lamp-bearing virgins, of persistent widows, and of the last days that will challenge even the most resilient of faith.

Jesus leaves no room for doubt. Faith moves the heart of God. And, he even says, it can move mountains, too.

Really, Jesus? Because I don’t think even George Müller’s orphan-feeding faith did that. Sigh. There’s my lack of faith again.

So repeatedly, I pray a simple prayer with the father of the mute, seizure-ridden boy: “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24 NIV)

I remember that it’s not ultimately about the size of my faith. Even a mustard seed will do. It’s about who my faith is in.

I turn my eyes to the author and perfecter of my faith, throwing off the doubt that so easily weighs me down.

And I take that first step out of the comfort of my boat.

Partnering with God through Prayer

Ironically, my boat right now is this period of waiting on adoption. We’ve been waiting for four years, and I’ve gotten rather cozy in it. I can trust God in this waiting, this status quo of two children from my own womb. I have no clue, however, how adoption will rock the boat of our family.

But I know loving and welcoming those whom others have cast aside is his heart, and I know he has allowed us to carry that conviction deeply in our own hearts for a reason.

It’s hard to fervently pray for something that you know might completely undo you, though.

That’s why I feel like this challenge to faith is also a challenge to prayer, to partnering with God in bringing my child home. I’m praying fierce mama-bear prayers over this little one I’ve never met because I have faith that God hears me and will answer. I’m refusing to look at the wind and the waves of what-ifs and I-can’ts because Jesus is right there, inviting me to do this with him.

Whatever your obstacle or storm is, it might be just the opportunity you need to strengthen your faith and glorify your Father. As Peter—the one who walked on water, sank beneath the waves, and felt the sure grip of Jesus’ hand—declares, “through faith [you] are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:5-7 NIV).

Let’s keep reaching out to him in faith, honoring his greatness and sovereignty with the size of our requests.

I’ll leave you with a final shot of courage from the aforementioned missionary, George Müller:

“Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.”

God will never fail you.

Do you have faith to believe that?

Corella Roberts is a country girl and a city girl. An introvert and a socialite. A homebody and an adventurer. But mostly, she’s simply Abba’s child. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, Troy, and they live in Thailand with their two full-of-life kids and two chubbier-than-most hamsters. She’s the author of Colliding with the Call: When Following God Takes You to the Wilderness, and her heart is to see people connect deeply with Jesus. You can find her at corellaroberts.com.

Photograph © Le Minh Phuong, used with permission