This is our third time with Nathan Nass who writes at Upside-Down Savior, and is a Lutheran Pastor in Oklahoma. Once again there are two devotionals for you from Nathan. Clicking the title for each will link you to where they first published on his blog.
The LORD controls all things. Do you believe that? Sometimes it’s hard. Our city—Tulsa, OK—was recently hit by severe thunderstorms with 100+ mph winds. Five days later, 100,000 people still didn’t have electricity. Life has been messed up. It’s hot. Are you saying that God is in control of this?
Yes. Here’s what God says: “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). Every blessing and prosperity in your life is a gift from God. And so is every disaster and trial and challenge. “I, the LORD, do all these things.”
Why? I don’t know. You often don’t know either. We’re not God. We can’t see the big picture from eternity to eternity. We can’t see the spiritual struggles happening behind the scenes. We can’t yet see the end of the story. But God can. God knows. That’s enough. If God knows, that’s enough.
Because we know who the LORD is. He’s the God who was willing to send his own Son Jesus to die for our sins and win for us eternal life. He’s the God who loves us even when we don’t deserve it. The cross proves that the LORD is full of compassion and grace. There’s no doubt about it. He loves us.
So in the light and in the darkness, we find comfort in this: The LORD does all these things. In prosperity and disaster, we find strength in this: The LORD does all these things. When our eyes tell us a different story, our faith believes in God’s certain promises. Even in disaster, the good LORD does all these things.
God leaves room for faith. Do you understand that? The Bible tells us that faith is being sure of what we cannot see. So do you know what God often does? He hides himself. He hides his blessings and promises in the most unlikely places, where we’d never expect to find them. Why? God leaves room for faith.
Take Abraham, for example. God promised Abraham that he would have a son. Great, right? Except, Abraham was in the 70s. Okay, God can make that happen. Except, he didn’t. For years. Not just for years. For decades. Abraham waited and waited, year after year. The impossible became more and more impossible. What was God doing? Why was God taking so long? Had God stopped caring?
No. God leaves room for faith. In spite of Abraham’s advancing age, he believed God’s promise. Sure, there were doubts and hiccups along the way. But the longer God waited, the more he hid himself, and the more Abraham had to rely solely on the Word of God, the more his faith grew. Here’s how it’s described: “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
If Abraham was going to be saved, there was only one way: By faith. If Abraham was going to be righteous, there was only one way: By faith. Just like if you and I are going to be saved, there is only one way: By faith in Jesus Christ. If you and I are going to be righteous in God’s sight, there’s only one way: By faith in Jesus.
So don’t be surprised when God leaves room for faith in your life. Don’t be surprised when God’s presence and promises seem hidden behind silence or trial or waiting. What is faith? Being sure of what we cannot see. Trust in God’s promises. We have a God who loves to leave room in our lives for faith.
Christianity 201 
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