Your Faith Won't Fail

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What do we do when things don't go our way? What happens when what we've been praying for doesn't seem to work out the way we wanted? Do we completely lose faith and back away from spirituality, or do we reconfigure our approach and press in all the more?

In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus says to one of his disciples,  "Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Jesus was preparing to willfully enter a time of great suffering so that he could accomplish his cosmic purpose of subverting sin and death and conferring eternal life upon humanity. As he was entering this phase of his journey, he was letting his followers know that there was an evil agenda from the enemy to cause them to fail and falter in their spiritual and natural lives. He warns them that challenges will come to throw them off course, but that those challenges would not be able to ultimately accomplish their demise.

Jesus says, "I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail." That is actually a highly encouraging statement for Peter to hear, because if Jesus (the Son of God) prayed for something, certainly it would be efficacious and accomplish its purpose.

Peter was not yet in the mindset to appreciate the profundity of Jesus' words as he had not yet entered his own time of great testing and trial. But upon looking back, after the valiant, bold Peter let himself down by publicly denying that he ever knew Jesus, I can imagine him being overcome with guilt and a sense of failure.

Yet, the comforting foresight of Jesus is displayed in the words, "and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Jesus didn't define Simon Peter by his temporary setback in faith during his time of testing and trial. Instead, Jesus saw Peter beyond his temporary lapse, shining in a fully recovered spiritual state, now aiding others in their walk of faith and spiritual well-being.

Peter represents the Rock of Faith and divine perception that all of our spiritual lives are built upon. When we are challenged and bruised by life-events and experiences, we can rest in the comfort of knowing that God does not condemn us for our temporary lapses into fear, uncertainty and confusion.  Instead, God sees us beyond our present predicament and mystically calls for the functioning of our faith beyond the present trial.

We gain access to that reality by believing and knowing that somewhere beyond our present pain, there IS a place of strength and well-being that we emerge into, where not only are we living the dream, but we are helping others to do the same.

Faith persistently sees beyond the temporal and holds onto the hope of coming attractions, trusting God to carry us all the way through the tough terrain, safely to the other side.

Amen.

~Jason

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