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"That’s the kind of faith God wants us to have all the time."


A thought by Christine Cane, from her book, How Did I Get Here? (p. 30). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

And that is what I want.

Christine says, "Even if! That’s the kind of faith God wants us to have all the time. Even-if faith is what keeps us tethered when we are in the midst of a crisis, when we do not understand what is going on, when our situation is painful, confusing, demoralizing, disheartening, disappointing. Even-if faith keeps us from drifting. It anchors us. It’s now faith! It’s faith for the present moment and for whatever fiery trial we’re going through. Maybe you’ve learned you can’t graduate on time. Maybe you have been given a grim diagnosis. Maybe you’ve lost a dear friendship. Maybe you have lost your savings or your business. Maybe you’ve lost someone you loved deeply. And the pain you are feeling is something you’ve never known and something you never want to feel again. The only kind of faith that will get you through is even-if faith."


She goes on, "God wants us to have both future-focused faith and even-if faith—and he wants us living in the tension of them both. For example, the Bible tells us to look for Jesus’ second coming, to keep watch, to be expectant of him splitting the skies (Rev. 6:14–16). But at the same time, how are we supposed to live here on earth in the midst of all the fires we walk through? Because, let’s face it, we’re always entering a fire, standing in the middle of fire, or coming out of one. Sitting around looking for Jesus to come rescue us isn’t going to equip us to walk through the fires, but even-if faith will. Even-if faith looks at life this way:

  • "Even if I get a divorce, yet I will trust God. 
  • Even if I can’t finish school right now, yet I will trust God. 
  • Even if the doctor calls and there’s something seriously wrong, yet I will trust God. 
  • Even if I lose my job, yet I will trust God. 
  • Even if I don’t get married, yet I will trust God. 
  • Even if I can’t have children, yet I will trust God. 
  • Even if I lose that friend, yet I will trust God. 
  • Even if I can never quit working, yet I will trust God. 
  • Even if I lose everything I have worked so hard for, yet I will trust God.
"Even if . . . Even if . . . Even if . . . That’s the level of trust and the kind of faith I want to have in God. Don’t you?"

She then says, 

  • "Even if God doesn’t seem to answer my prayers, yet I will trust him. 
  • Even if God answers my prayers with a no, yet I will trust him. 
  • Even if the answers to my prayers take years, yet I will trust him. 
  • Even if I can’t trace the hand of God, yet I will trust him. 
  • Even if . . . yet I will trust him."

 And that is where real trust comes in, doesn't it? Yes, yes! #continuethought



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