À la carte Faith

I'm in the process of reading through the Bible in a year.  I'm using the ESV reading guide, which assigns a couple chapters from the Old Testament and part of one from the New Testament each day.  A couple of days ago, I was in John 3 and one verse jumped out at me (John 3:33): "Whoever has accepted it [Jesus' testimony] has certified that God is truthful."  As a believer, I accept Jesus' testimony the He is who He says He is: the only way to heaven (John 14:6).  Using John 3:33, I have certified that God is truthful.  That means everything He says in His Word is Truth.

Now think about it: EVERYTHING He says in the Bible is Truth.  When I got to thinking about this, I realized that sometimes I have an À la carte faith.  I decide which parts of the Bible I choose to believe depending on what I'm going through.  When everything in my life is going well, I think, "Your love reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies" (Psalm 36:5).  I know He's "working all things out for the good of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28). 

When I'm in a rut or going through something tough, I question whether or not His Word is true.  For instance, I have a hard time believing Him when He says: “Do not worry” (Matthew 6:25-34; Luke 12:22-30) when I’m stressed about money or work.  Or that He is always there and never leaves me when I feel lonely (Deuteronomy 31:6).  When I've sinned, sometimes I don't believe that He has forgiven me and removed my sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

I don’t want to have an À la carte type faith where what I believe about God and His Truth is circumstantial.  I pray that I have the type of faith that makes my circumstances succumb to God’s Word and His Truth.  I want to speak God’s promises over my situation and KNOW that they are true.

I'm thankful that God has challenged me in this area of my faith.  Guess I need to memorize this verse and say it over and over and over and over...

"For the word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does." – Psalm 33:4