When we face uncertainty

[Jacob]

Faith is not the same as hope. Many time we pray in hope that God will
answer our prayers in the way we expect. But if God has not given us a
specific promise concering our request, either through a direct
promise in His word or an assurance in our heart (Ro.10:17), we really
don't know how God will answer us. If we are honest and real about
life, we have to admit that this is the case many times. After we have
prayed we wait in hope, but uncertain about the outcome. What is
certain for us is that our Father has heard our prayer, He is
almighty, all knowing, all wise and full of love for us, and that He
will answer us in the way that is really the best for us. That is our
faith in our Father.

To believe that God can do anything, or that He can do what He has
done for others, is faith in God's ability and power. But that in
itself is not the same as believing that God will actually do what we
have asked for. Has He told us He will do it, or are we just hoping
that He will do it? If He has told us in our heart then we can have
faith that it will happen just as He has said (Mt.8:13).

We shouldn't be confused between hope and faith. When we have an
assurance in our heart that what we hope for will come true, that is
faith (He.11:1). This assurance is given to us by God specifically in
different situations. We know it when we have it. But this is
different from us trying to make ourselves come to that assurance--by
repeating words from the Bible or 'positive' words and avoiding
'negative' words. That will be like us making things happen (which we
can't do; we are not gods), and not God answering our prayer through
His grace.

When we have prayed in hope, and when we are uncertain about how
things would turn out, that is when our faith in our Father will be
our strength. "We don't know the future, but we know the One who holds
the future." Just as a young child derives his confidence and strength
from his father's finger which he holds on to, we too can stand firm,
without wavering, knowing that our future is safe in our Father's
hands. Then we would be glad if our Father answers our prayer in the
way we want or the way He wants. We know He knows best, and that
knowledge helps us to have the attitude, "Not my will, Father, but
Yours."

Those who wait on God will not be disappointed (Is.49:23). We may be
disappointed when we don't get what we asked for, but we will not be
disappointed in the ultimate sense because our Father always plans for
our welfare and not for calamity (Je.29:11), and He causes even the
disappointing things that come to us to work for our eternal good (Ro.
8:28,29).

This kind of faith in our Father helps us not to be moved by things
that happen to us. People who have been taught to 'believe' that they
will always get whatever they ask for get disappointed many times, and
some of them even fall away from God. The fault is not with God, but
an unrealistic understanding of faith that they had.