Doesn't everybody have a reason for doubting God? Doesn't everybody have a story about a loved one who died, even after praying to God with all their heart.

I mean, these are good people who loved God, got sick and died. Or, they died young. These are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, friends. Senseless deaths, that God could have prevented.

How many of Jesus' disciples lost family and friends to sickness? Yet Jesus called them to believe Him. To heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
Jesus knew they had a story of loss and grief. Who doesn't?

Jesus gave his disciples the authority to heal and to deliver from bondage. He said those who follow Him would perform the works that He performed. He did not tell His disciples to pray for people to be healed. He simply said, heal them.

So now we have multitudes of 'believers' who, because of their experience with great pain, sorrow and disillusionment have adjusted how they define or express the words of Jesus. They say, 'We have a miracle-working God to whom nothing is impossible. He is sovereign over all things. No man may tell Him how or when He is to use His miraculous power. He determines His actions in great wisdom and lovingkindness. His ways are higher than ours and we must trust, even when we don't understand.'

That sounds so 'Christian,' doesn't it? The practical result of such thinking/believing is that a huge portion of the church concedes the ministry of healing and deliverance to the sovereignty of God and forfeits their calling to partner with the Holy Spirit to do the works that Jesus commanded us to do. Does it ever occur to anyone that this 'theology' has produced an extremely paltry volume of divine healing? I'm talking about the healing that Jesus promised when He said, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Where is it?

Can we trust without full understanding, even if that means believing His word to accomplish things beyond our power?

Wouldn't the conversation among the children of Israel in the desert have sounded very similar to ours today? Let's listen in to their conversation: "You know, we're all different people. We're not all cut out to be warriors or to do great exploits of faith. We're just simple folk with families, and it's job enough to keep food on the table. I know our God is great. And if He really wanted us living in that land across the Jordan, He'd work out a way. He is wise and almighty. We'll just keep trusting and humbly walking with Him, and He'll surely do what's best for us. Yes, there are those to whom God gives a special calling and gifts to do great exploits. But most of us are simple folk - just like, say, fishermen. God remembers that we are dust, after all."

But is their situation not identical to ours? God actually gave them the promised land. He told them to go scout it out. If they would go, He would be with them and fight for them. But they said that the giants were too big, and they saw themselves as grasshoppers. They couldn't possibly conquer such an enemy. They had a story. They were slaves once. It was real to them.

They could not overcome what they could not understand. They elevated their perceptions above God's word. Even though He delivered them out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. They had a good, a rational and legitimate reason to pull back. Who could argue with them?

And so, virtually the entire nation disqualified themselves from the immeasurable blessings of God because they had good reason not to believe Him. It seems a bit terrifying that God did not relent after a time and let them into the Promised Land, anyway.

Maybe He thinks there are no good reasons to disbelieve Him. And now, we can add another item to the list of things for which to blame God. He could have beaten the giants for us, and now, here we sit in the desert. But still, He's good, right?