As children of God, we are free to ask Him anything we please, and once we ask, we can hope He will give us exactly what we’ve asked for.  But to believe He will do something He has not promised to do is not faith; it is presumption!  I fear that much of what is passed off as faith today is really presumption.

If I sent you an email inviting you to my home for dinner, I wouldn’t include such statements as, “I have perfect faith you are coming!  I know you will be here!  I am claiming your arrival!  By faith, I am announcing to all my friends you will be here!”  On the contrary, I would say things like, “I hope you can join me; I would like to have you; please check your schedule.”  I would be foolish to believe you were coming until you told me.  Once you called me and confirmed the date, I could have faith you were coming, but not a moment sooner.  Why?  Because you told me you would be here; you made a commitment to come; I received a promise to hang my faith on.  And if you don’t show up, my disappointment would be justified – you broke your promise.

Disappointment with God usually stems from confusion over the meaning of faith.  Most people who are disappointed with God misunderstand what faith is.  To them, faith is some sort of power or force.  They think if they have enough faith, God will do whatever they ask Him.  So when a crisis comes along, they try to move God into action through their faith.  When God doesn’t respond, they become disappointed.  Their misunderstanding leads to unrealistic expectations, and their expectations eventually lead to disappointment.

There was a time in my life when I was disappointed with God.  I felt as if He had let me down because He didn’t answer my request as I desired.  It’s not unusual for people in this situation to stop reading their Bibles, stop attending church, and stop praying.  In some cases, their disappointment turns to anger and even bitterness.

Part of the reason for confusion in the area of faith is because we want to be in control.

This is a very good article on faith, and what we believe is part of that faith. Written by Joe over at Joe Quatrone, Jr.
This deals with the reality that many of us face or have faced, getting God’s promises confused based on wrong interpretation of His Word. God does not promise us all things!

To finish reading this article, please head over to http://joequatronejr.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/faith-or-presumption/
While you are there, why not check out the rest of Joe’s blog, let him know that something he wrote blessed you!