Temporary faith falls short

Leviticus 20; Psalm 25; Ecclesiastes 3; 1 Timothy 5

There is such a thing as ‘temporary faith’ that often shows up when trouble comes. I cry out to God for help and deliverance, but after the trial is over, I go my own way, glad things are back to normal. Talking about this in conjunction with this pandemic, a couple people have remarked that people seem to be turning to God, but the only way to tell if their ‘faith’ is genuine saving faith is after the threat is gone. Will they still call out to God and rely on Him for everything?

The problem of temporary faith is that it is all about getting out of a jam rather than dealing with sin. When I go my own way and get in trouble, the way of the Lord requires that the sin of ignoring and resisting God is confessed. Repentance is part of genuine faith but with ‘temporary faith’ it usually becomes a bargaining chip.

David’s psalm shows that he recognized the need for personal forgiveness, even when the problems of his life were caused by someone else. He asked God for mercy when in trouble, but also forgive his sins. David said:

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble and forgive all my sins. (Psalm 25:14–18, italics mine)

God is not a genie in a bottle. He is there for His people, but not our slave. David knew that God is God and we are mere sheep in His pasture, recipients of His kindness yet deserving wrath because of our sin.

David’s son, Solomon, also realized his place before God. He could see that even in justice and righteousness there is wickedness. Rarely does a person have pure motives and does anything without selfishness being part of it. He recognized the need for tying God’s mercy to confession of sin. He also realized that God allowed trials in our lives to show us how easily we depart from genuine faith:

I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. (Ecclesiastes 3:17–18)

This is part of the good news because in realizing my sin I am given grace. Every time God blesses me with truth about my tendency to selfishness, He also blesses me with forgiveness and cleansing. This does not happen with temporary faith for that cry for deliverance is only about using God to make me more comfortable, not more godly.

Paul also recognized this truth. He wrote to Timothy about the care of widows and said this:

She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. (1 Timothy 5:5–6)

I am not a widow nor a king, but I know that God wants me to rely on Him for all this life as well as eternal life. He will comfort me in trials because He is good, not as a reward for mere temporary faith that seeks Him to get me out of trouble.

I always thought that this come-and-go faith was a trait of unbelievers but can see that I can fall into it as well. This is a sin and in grace, He provides the answer: If I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), whether He makes the trial go away or gives me grace to endure it!

APPLY: It is common these days to pray for relief from this pandemic, the end of the threat and a return to ‘normal’ life. Reasons for praying it vary though. Sometimes I want my life to return to normal and am thinking selfishly. Sometimes my mind is on caregivers, seniors, those without jobs and those who are struggling. Solomon said trials reveal our hearts. It does, yet at the same time, how do pity and compassion fit in? What is the will of God for this world-wide epidemic? I need to pray for His will to be done rather than ask Him to indulge my selfishness.

Unanswered prayer? One reason . . .

People do not always agree and get along. I read and watch mysteries and even though most are fiction, they are based on this reality. Someone wants something they cannot have so they harm others trying to get it. Mostly, that thing they cannot have is a selfish desire. For this, God says:

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:1–4)

The root of the problem is selfishness, another word for sinfulness. The object of desire could be legitimate but in this description the reason for wanting it is all about me, me, me. As a Christian, all I have to do is ask God for those things that I need, even the things that I want, but if my motivation is to bless myself or glorify myself, or make me the star, then the prayer will not be answered. I have made my wants and my stuff more important than listening to and obeying God.

It happens. I’m too embarrassed to name some of what I’ve asked for wrongly and God said no. I’m ashamed of the emotions that rose up because I didn’t get what I wanted and the arguments I’ve been in for the same reason. Yet if it were not for those experiences, I’d not know the reality of a couple of big reasons that God does not answer prayer.

One is that I do not ask. I assume I can get it for myself, perhaps knowing in my heart that it is the wrong thing to ask for anyway.

The other is that I ask but with that selfish motivation that this thing is for me, to satisfy me, to make me the winner, to do for me what I should not want but am asking anyway.

There are lessons learned from being selfish. While God often shields my foolishness from the public eye, just knowing that others see how I’m thinking and acting is awful. Worse yet, knowing I’m putting myself above the care and wisdom of God is humbling. For this, I should be thankful. The alternative, a hard heart, would make the next few verses meaningless . . .

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:6–10)

From being so selfish and from realizing God becomes deaf to my selfish prayers makes me realize my pride and the way the devil manipulates my thinking. It also makes me realize that this passage has a logical sequence. It is summarized at the beginning: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” This is well described in the next lines.

Submit to God comes first. There is no power to resist Satan or my own selfishness while I try to hang on to it. I cannot serve Him while I am trying to serve me.

Resist the devil comes on the heels of submitting to God. Stop listening to the devil’s lies and destructive suggestions. If I am yielded to God, he must leave and he does. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out what I’ve held back from God, but once that happens (and is confessed) the pressure is off. I win — by giving up!

The reset of it is easy. Mourning over sin is not fun, but in the end, God exalts me. That is always unexpected, even though I know this verse. God is utterly amazing!

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Jesus, there are times when I’ve prayed, “You are my Savior, save me” and You come to the rescue. However, there are times when I’ve prayed, “Give me . . . .” and asked for foolish and sinful things. I’m so glad that You are not like a genie in a bottle that grants every wish. You keep me from the silliness and sinfulness of myself. For that, I praise and thank You.

Today’s thankful list . . .

The Word of God that tells me how to live in victory.

The energy that comes with freedom from selfishness.

Ability to choose.

Finally being able to get my sister on the phone.

My personal trainer who refuses me the luxury of whining.

Being able to record rugby games in the middle of the night to watch the next day.

Crisp cold air with sunshine.

Salmon sandwiches on homemade bread.

The Spirit is not my genie in a bottle

This morning I asked my husband to pray when giving thanks for our food that I would have the self-control to eat properly that day. Since the source of self-control is the Holy Spirit, I wanted to be filled with Him instead of letting my appetites dictate things to me, like it is okay to eat dessert when my stomach is already full.

Within an hour, the Lord speaks to me through Tozer. He says, “Let us never pray that we may be filled with the Spirit of God for secondary purposes.”

This is a mild rebuke. I’m not to think that the Spirit of God is my servant when it should be the other way around! As Tozer writes, God wants to fill me with His Spirit in order that I know Him and am absorbed in Him. His purpose is that in the fullness of the Spirit Jesus Christ will be glorified in me. My attitude should be like the psalmist who declared:

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:1–3)

It is not wrong to ask God for help, even for help with personal issues like a sweet tooth, or any other form of self-absorption. He delights in our humble requests and knows that we cannot fulfill our calling without Him, yet as today’s devotional reading says, the major purpose of the Holy Spirit is to lift my mind to new ideals and give me “conceptions of things so much in advance of our present experiences” that I long for higher ground, not merely that my waistline still fits my clothes.

In other words, by wanting self-control or any other fruit of the Spirit, like love, peace, joy and gentleness, my motivation should go beyond the warmth and good feelings that fruit produces in me. Instead of being selfish about it, God wants that fruit to feed and nourish the lives of others. The tree never eats its own fruit; it merely displays it. The eating is for others.

Last night we were hosts to another couple who join us in praying for our families. I’ve been thinking that I am not a natural hostess who thinks of the needs of my guests, but last night we were blessed by our Bible study and prayer time. My heart was thrilled at the Lord’s teaching and I found myself taking care of my guests without any effort. When the Spirit comes in, selfishness and self-effort go out.

How does this apply to that prayer request to my hubby? It was a self-centered catering to my vanity. How can I ask him to pray that the Holy Spirit will give me what I need so I can be more self-centered and vain? Duh.

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Jesus, Your patience is incredible, as usual. In my desire to stay thin or be thinner, I’m focused only on me. But when my focus is on You and Your glory, I will have what I need for that, and all the side benefits that the fruit of the Spirit gives, the joy for others becomes my joy as well. The peace and love for others warms my heart too, as does patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and even self-control. Keep my desires, hungers and thirsts centered on You, knowing that You will take care of whatever else I need.