This is the one great question in the search for faith. We know God can do all things but which of them will He do? Faith and the things of faith have more to do with knowing what God wills to do rather than knowing what God can do.
Can we have faith if we do not know if He will do it? I think not. There would be no basis for faith. To believe that whatever comes along is God’s will is nonsense. It is like having no goals. How would you know if and when you had received? You would never know what to expect. It would be just as absurd as painting the windshield of your car black and then believing everything you hit was God’s will.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the (spoken) word of God: Romans 10:17
Faith begins where the will of God is known. The big quest in the search for faith is the search for God’s specific will. His specific will – for you, your situation, and for right now. Once you receive that you will either have faith or you won’t. And if you don’t, you now know that you need to seek Him for something else. Finding the will of God is must be done before you pray, not after. That way, you know what you are praying for and what you are to receive. Prayer is not a crap shoot. It is not throwing prayers against the wall to see which ones will stick.
Knowing God can do it is the basis of hope. Knowing God will do it is the basis of faith. There are those who do not believe you can know the will of God. They do not believe that God speaks personally to individuals today. And all their theology stems from that incorrect view. God is a hands-on God, and He care for personally. He deals with us today in the same way He dealt with individuals in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and most specifically the Gospels. Jesus talked directly to people and He still does today, except now He does through the Holy Spirit.
God still speaks today but you must seek Him till you hear Him. And when you do hear Him you will know His will and have the answer to your hope. Then you will know – not only that He can do it, but that He will do it. And upon that you can walk through fire or stormy seas.
Therefore, keep up your courage men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. – Acts 27:25
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