The Faith Test (Sermon Blog)
Faith is easy when life makes sense. But what happens when God asks us to move forward without knowing where we're going, wait longer than we expected, face something that seems impossible, or trust Him through something we simply cannot understand?
Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Abraham, often called the father of faith, lived this out through some of the greatest tests of his life.
His story shows us four faith tests that we may face in our own lives.
1. The Test of a Major Change
"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." — Hebrews 11:8
At 75 years old, Abraham was established, successful, and comfortable. Then God told him to leave everything familiar and go somewhere new—without even telling him exactly where he was going.
Abraham had plenty of reasons to resist, but he obeyed.
Change can be uncomfortable, especially when we don't know what comes next. God may lead us toward a new job, relationship, ministry, school, location, or season of life without giving us the complete plan.
Faith says, "God, I don't know where this is going, but I trust You enough to take the next step."
Sometimes the thing God is calling us to do feels intimidating. But if God is leading us there, He has already prepared us for what lies ahead.
2. The Test of a Delayed Promise
Abraham obeyed and eventually arrived in the land God had promised him. But the promise didn't unfold the way he probably expected.
Hebrews 11:9 tells us that Abraham continued living by faith as a foreigner in the land, dwelling in tents along with Isaac and Jacob.
Waiting is one of the hardest tests of faith.
Maybe you're waiting for:
A relationship or marriage
A home or financial breakthrough
A new job or promotion
A child you've prayed for
A loved one to return to God
Your health to improve
When we're waiting, it's easy to wonder whether God has forgotten us. Abraham's story reminds us that God's timing may look very different from ours.
Can we trust God's promise even when we don't know His timetable?
God sees us in the waiting. He knows what we're carrying, and He remains faithful even when the answer takes longer than we hoped.
3. The Test of an Impossible Problem
God promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation. There was just one problem: Abraham and Sarah didn't have a child, and they were far beyond normal childbearing age.
From a human perspective, the situation was impossible.
Yet Hebrews 11 tells us that Sarah believed God would keep His promise, and Isaac was eventually born.
So what do we do when we're facing an impossible problem?
We bring it to God because God specializes in impossible problems.
Sometimes circumstances can leave us feeling hopeless. But faith doesn't mean pretending the problem isn't real. It means believing that our problem isn't bigger than God.
In Mark 5, a woman who had suffered for 12 years pushed through a crowd just to reach Jesus. She had exhausted every other option, but she still had enough faith to reach for Him.
Whatever impossible situation you're facing, don't let it keep you from pressing toward God.
4. The Test of a Senseless Tragedy
Perhaps the hardest faith test comes when something happens that we simply cannot understand.
Abraham faced an unimaginable test when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac—the very son God had promised him. Abraham didn't understand what God was doing, but he had enough history with God to trust His character.
He knew God had been faithful before.
Life brings moments when we ask:
Why, God? Why did this happen?
We won't always receive an explanation. We live in a broken world where choices have consequences, suffering is real, and tragedies happen.
But faith does not require us to understand everything.
Abraham trusted God even when the situation made no sense. He believed that the God who had brought him this far would not abandon him now.
The Secret to Passing the Faith Test
The secret to acing God's tests isn't knowing all the answers.
It's trusting God when we don't have the answers.
That's the test: Do you trust Me?
Maybe you're facing a major change. Maybe you've been waiting longer than you thought you could. Maybe you're facing an impossible problem or walking through a tragedy you can't explain.
Faith doesn't mean you won't have doubts or questions.
In Mark 9, a desperate father came to Jesus seeking help for his son and cried out:
"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
And that was enough.
We can bring our faith, our questions, our doubts, and our struggles to God. We don't have to understand everything to trust Him. We simply need enough faith to take the next step.
We'll finish The Art of Being Unordinary with Part 4 this Sunday.