Persistence and Faith

Well, I don’t really have much of a ‘sermon’ today as this is something I’ve just been working through as of yesterday and today. This is not a spiritual truth that I have mastered or completed, but one that was revealed to me yesterday and one that I am trying to know and apply. The sermon yesterday was on persistence and faith, using Luke 18-18 as the passage, which reads as follows:

 

“1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

 4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

 6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"” (Luke 18:1-8, NIV)

So what does this mean to me? How can I be persistent, basically “pester” God about our current situation?

 

Right now, we have two properties. I know, in a time where many of this nation and the USA are struggling to find work in order to pay their bills, my problem is that I’m stuck with two mortgages. Things could be worse I know. But, as it is, we absolutely cannot afford both of these properties. To make a long story short, we moved out to BC about 2 years ago and thought we had sold our property back in Alberta. Unfortunately, after about 1-1/2 years of extensions and what have you, the sale in Alberta was cancelled. So now we’re stuck with two mortgages.

 

Well, we’re trying to sell the property in Alberta again from a distance (everyone knows that long-distance relationships are very hard to do). We can’t afford to drive out to the property to show it, to clean it, or even to meet with a Realtor. We can’t afford this, because we’re already about $400 short every month due to having this property in the first place! It’s a nasty catch-22 if I’ve ever seen one.

 

So, interested and potential buyers have gone out to view the acreage, but nobody has called or emailed back after seeing it. Why not? We prayed about it, but not “persistently”. Rather, it was more of a time-of-the-month prayer, when we realized that the finances for that month were short again, then we’d pray about everything.

 

Now we had someone view the property this weekend, and he at least called back. Not to say he was interested, but to say that they were going to walk away due to some damage on the house. This was news to us. What damage? Apparently, he stated that one of the foundation piles was sinking and had caused the house to be sitting off level. On top of this, there was now a crack in the ceiling drywall that ran from one end of the house to the other, with water damage seeping through.

 

Needless to say, we were less than pleased to hear this. While we have yet to confirm his statements from a friend of ours, this news is devastating. Basically, if this is true, then chances are we can only sell this for land value. Which isn’t even as much as our mortgage is due.

 

How can things possibly go from what was seemingly the bottom of the barrel to even lower?

 

And yet the sermon on Sunday was about persistence. It was about coming to God day and night with our pleas, begging Him to intervene. Not sporadically when I feel like it, but ALL DAY. And not just “pester” God, but bringing our problems before Him with the belief that He WILL step in. Having the faith to know that He will NOT leave us stranded.

 

I have no idea what might happen. I have no idea if God will have us sell our BC home and move back to Alberta. I have no idea if God will provide a buyer “as-is”. I have no idea if He will provide the funds to just fix the place. I really do not know what He will do. But the key to this, I’m thinking, is that I believe he WILL. I don’t know what, but I know He WILL.

 

And so I keep presenting my case.

 

Every time I think about this, I pray “God, help us. Help us through this.” I don’t even know what to ask for anymore! But I do know we need help, and for that I am begging. I am pleading. God, help. And I will not stop asking until this is worked through.

 

I realized that God has allowed us into this situation for reasons beyond this world. I also realize that I may never actually know why. But I do know that when God is finished, we will be closer to Him. We will come out of this with a stronger heart for Him, with a faith that will guide us through such circumstances. With man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.