"A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."
Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, "because I go to the Father'?"
They said therefore, "What is this that He says, "A little while'? We do not know what He is saying."
Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?
Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." John 16: 16-23

For three blessed years the 12 disciples walked with Jesus. He taught them, guided them, sent them out, welcomed them back, fed them, showed them the most awesome miracles. One of them even got to walk on water. For three years they experienced the immense wonder and joy of walking with the Lord Jesus. For three years their lives were transformed from simple, ordinary lives to an awesome adventure.

But when the time came for Jesus to go to the cross, they did not understand. In their hearts they could not accept that Jesus, their Lord and King, was going to die on the cross. Peter, in particular, could not accept it. "And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Mark 8: 31-33.

Jesus knew this. He knew that the disciples did not have the faith to see beyond what they thought was impossible. They could not understand how Jesus their Lord could die, and then rise again. They could not take it to heart. But Jesus assured them that they would see Him again, and when they saw Him again their hearts will rejoice, with a joy that could never be taken away. The disciples needed to see Jesus rise with their own eyes before they could believe.

What is the substance of faith? "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb 12:1. Faith never operates in the realm of the visible. "For we walk by faith, and not by sight." 2 Cor 5:7. If you believe in something that you can see, that is not faith. And more than that, in Jesus' eyes, faith is never linked with the possible. Faith is always linked with the impossible. "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Matt 17:20. Time and time again people would run to Jesus, begging Him to heal them or their children, believing that He would do so while others thought it was impossible. Jesus' response? He healed them, and commended them saying, "Go in peace, your faith has made you well." Is it possible to walk on water? Not as we know it, but Peter was able to, until his faith started to wane. And when Jesus had rescued him, He rebuked him with the words, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Real solid faith in the eyes of Jesus is always in the realm of the impossible. What would seem impossible in any other person's eyes, in any other circumstance, Jesus says is possible, and our job is to have faith in that. The disciples did not have that faith, until they saw it with their own eyes. And thereafter their faith was forever increased; they no longer needed the sight. The real test of faith is not whether we can hold on to the promises of God when we can see that things are going smoothly. The real test is whether we can hold on even when everything seems to be going against what we believe; when we cannot see what is happening or do not understand what is going on. Whether we can walk on water even when we see the monstrous wind and waves. Whether we can believe that Jesus will rise again even though He is hanging on the Cross.

What is standing in the way of your faith today? What seems impossible to you, yet God seems to be drawing you in that direction? Is He guiding you somewhere that you feel like it is impossible for you to follow? Is He calling you to believe in Him even when your entire world is collapsing around you? Is He calling you to believe in something He has promised even when you have no idea in heaven or earth how He is going to bring it about? That is not where faith ends, like most people think; that is where faith begins. Faith believes in the impossible, and that makes all the difference, for our God is a God of the impossible. "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27.

It is perfectly normal to doubt God, to stumble. Moses did, Peter did, the disciples did. Few people start out with a faith that can move mountains; some people need to see to believe, some more than others. But I believe God shows Himself to those who doubt in all earnestness, that they may believe. He did it for the masses when He healed the sick and cured the lame. He did it for the disciples. He showed Himself to them, that they could believe once and for all that He was risen, and that they could have His joy forever. He did it for Peter; he remains the only man ever to walk on water. If you find yourself doubting, don't be discouraged. With an earnest heart ask God to show you what He can do. And then open your heart and eyes to see how He can work. And when He shows Himself, don't doubt any further. Have faith to believe in Him. Have faith to believe in the impossible. And as you learn to have that kind of faith, the faith as a mustard seed that Jesus spoke about, He will carry you through impossible situation after impossible situation.

I look back at my life and see how God has carried me through situations that at the time really seemed so impossible to get through. I see how God has brought me out of pits of despair that I thought were too deep to ever climb out of. I see how God has fulfilled promises planted in my heart that for the life of me I could not figure out how He was going to do. That is so characteristic of our God, isn't it. We don't see the Red Sea parted anymore, we don't see the sun stopped in its tracks anymore, we don't see the mighty walls of Jericho come crashing down anymore, but we see our unchanging God still working the impossible, this time in our lives. Thank God.

"But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Heb 11:6

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit." Jer 17:7-8

One of my favourite verses in the Bible. Recently took time to take it apart and think about what it really means...

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters- Always close to the Source of nourishment, always receiving and being filled with fresh living water.

Spreads out its roots by the river- Firm and deep foundations that do not wear away with time, able to withstand the scourges of time, will not be shaken in the storms of life. Totally secure and content.

Will not fear when the heat comes- Will never fear when trials or tribulations or struggles come, can always draw on the endless water that comes from the river, always refreshed and nourished in the most difficult times. Always knows where to look to for help.

Leaf will be green- Inner health, peace, joy, completeness and wholeness.

Will not be anxious in the year of drought- Will not fear when sustenance or strength or security or hope or happiness is cut off, because all these things come from the Source, the stream, the ever-flowing river. While others may wither, will stand firm and evergreen.

Nor will cease from yielding fruit- In the same measure as having received, will also pour out abundantly and bless others. The strength, joy and nourishment is never hoarded up but always flows through freely and endlessly to all around.

Of course, us having all these wonderful qualities depend on two things- one, whether or not the river is indeed ever-flowing, or in other words, whether or not God will always be there as our Source. And two, whether or not we truly trust in the Lord and have Him as our hope.

The first is of course undoubtable. Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever; He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. But the second, that is a big question mark. It is so easy to say that we trust in the Lord and have Him as our hope, when in reality we are trusting in ourselves and have other things as our hope. Who do we trust for strength, for guidance, for direction? Do we trust Him enough to provide for all our needs? Or do we run all over the place seeking to provide for them ourselves? Do we trust Him enough to follow where He leads, even if it hurts? Or do we prefer to do things our own way, trusting that we have the best ideas? Where does our hope lie? Does it lie in a secure future, a successful life, a relationship? Or does it lie in a life lived with Him, now and beyond the grave to eternity?

Sometimes we are so deluded that the Lord has to break us before we realise where our real trust and hope lies. Sometimes He sends the heat and the drought and lets us wither for a while, to make us realise how far we are away from the river. If you've experienced that do not resent it or run away from it; it's time for you to get to the river, get to the Source. God will not leave you withering forever; He intends for you to be find the true eternal Source of nourishment. It will probably take some massive spiritual surgery before you actually find it; the tree must be uprooted painfully, carried slowly and painstakingly to the river, and then replanted. In the words of Rich Mullins, "You gotta hang on for dear life, or let go for dear life." But once there, as you experience the fresh water that never ends, you will forget the pain, and it will all have been worth it.