We cannot say we surrender our life to Christ if we don’t surrender the outcome of that life to Him.
Trusting God in all circumstances is one of the hardest things to do. We will often only trust God when the outcomes we are expecting happen in our lives. But when something happens we don’t want or expect, we question God’s goodness, faithfulness, and even existence.
In the movie Breakthrough (based on a true story), Joyce Smith’s adopted son John fell through the ice on a frozen lake and was under water for more than fifteen minutes. The movie tells the story of his fight to survive and his mother’s faith that he would pull through. Joyce’s faith however was an incomplete faith. She fully believed that God would heal her son, despite what everyone around her was saying. But Joyce struggled in giving up control of the situation, and placing her heart and her son fully in God’s hands.
Joyce correctly believed that God could heal her son, but she also would not consider an outcome where her son did not pull through. Because Joyce did not leave the outcome in God’s hands, she began to treat doctors, friends, and family as enemy combatants rather than grieving loved ones. She saw their doubt as an attack on faith. Instead of using her faith as a uniting factor, it became a defense mechanism to control her helplessness.
Many times we can have the same faith as Joyce. We believe in a miracle so much, that we fail to believe in the miracle giver. The Bible says in Psalms 107:1 “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Faith comes down to belief in God’s goodness even when our situations are not good. God is constant, our situations are not. How we treat each others when things are not right in our world is the true measure of our faith. This does not mean we are to pretend everything is perfect and happy when everything is crashing around us. It means we are to love each other in spite of the situations befalling us.
For Christians, faith goes beyond believing in something that has not happened yet. Faith is acting upon what has happened and what we know to be true. The greatest example of this is Jesus. The night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Jesus asked God to change His situation. God did not. Does this mean God is not good? No! Jesus realized God’s goodness even in the midst of suffering. He continued to walk in God’s will even as His prayer was answered with no. Jesus surrendered his life, outcome and all to God. As a result, Jesus is glorified above all and is the salvation of all mankind.
For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,Psalm 112:6-8
Joyce realized that her faith had to go beyond belief. She learned to trust God with the outcome of her life and that of her son’s. She still prayed for healing, she still wept for her son; but she did so while loving those who were there with her in the battle. She chose to continue trusting in God’s goodness, regardless of her son’s death or restoration. This is the moment her faith became real and unshakable. This is where her trust in God had no borders.
God at the Boxoffice 