Unbelief and Blessing

In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!"  

Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. 

Psalm 31:22

 The Lord must endure a great deal of unbelief from us.  We are often so alarmed by the things of this life that we say, or at least think, "I am cut off from God's sight!"  A slight turn in providence, a little trouble in life, a loss of spiritual enjoyment on our part, or the fall to some pet sin and we are ready to proclaim that we are lost, that God has lost His patience with us and that our sin has evidently become to much for His grace.  Thankfully, God has pity on us, recognizing that we are merely dust, easily blown about by the winds of trouble.  So when our doubtful, despairing plea for mercy rises to His throne, He hears it as though it were delivered in the full confidence of perfect faith and, in His time, comes to our aid, proving once again that all His promises can be believed at all times. 

With shamefacedness, all we who profess to believe must profess after this manner "Lord, I believe: help Thou my unbelief."  I have heard many a preacher blame their inability to work miracles on the lack of faith in those who wanted the miracles.  Our Lord is not so restricted.  He rescues those whose faith is so weak so as to be unable to keep them from the despairing cry of the Psalmist. 

My blessings have been too great and my faith too weak to allow me to think that the strength of my faith determines the greatness of my blessings.  I am rather forced to conclude that the greatness of my blessings is determined by the greatness of the God who gives them; and the certainty of my salvation does not change with the wavering of my faith, but is as unchangeable as the God who worked my salvation. 

It is a shame that God's people can prove to be so weak in faith, but it is a great glory to God that He is so strong in salvation despite the weakness of our faith.