Have you ever been in this situation? You’re praying for the healing of a loved one or for a miracle of divine intervention in your own life. You’re reading the Bible and reminding yourself of God’s promises. “He is faithful,” you say to yourself. “He will answer my prayers. He will work a miracle!”

But no sooner do you speak those words of faith then your mind begins to race: What about all the other good people who prayed and God didn’t answer their prayers? What about [put the name of someone you know in this sentence]? If God didn’t come through in their situations – and they’re probably godlier than I am – why should I think He’ll come through for me?

Has this ever happened to you? Well you’re certainly not alone. In fact, I would think virtually all of us have gone through something similar at some point in our lives.

Yet as common as this “whataboutism” is when it comes to our faith, we must deal with it ruthlessly. That’s because entertaining these questions is fatal to faith, since they call into question the character of God. Did He mean what He said? Can He be trusted? Is He true to His Word?

Two Sides of the Coin

To be sure, He is not our magic genie here to carry out all our desires. And He obviously does not bail us out of every dire situation. That is not the reality of life in this world. (The Bible attests to this clearly as well. Life here on earth is not a bed of roses.)

There are also many conditions that God has laid out in His Word, and if we violate those conditions, we are foolish to think that we will obtain the desired results.

But if the Lord has clearly promised something to you, either through the clear teaching of Scripture or by the witness of the Spirit in a more personalized way, then you have to take hold of that promise tenaciously with tunnel vision.

Only God knows why the prayers of others did not seem to be answered. Only He knows why things worked out as did they. That is none of our business.

What is our business is to take Him at His Word and to trust in His character. He does not lie. He does not deceive. He does not mislead. He is, in His essential essence, Truth.

Meet with God

To paraphrase Deuteronomy 29:29, what happens behind the scenes – what is hidden – is for God to know. What has been made clear in public – the revelation of God through the Scriptures – is for us to know, to obey, and to believe.

That’s why Psalm 91, which gives promises of divine protection to the one who lives in intimacy with Him, makes this statement: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you” (Psalm 91:7).

There may be casualties all around you, but your focus must be fixed on the Lord and His truthfulness. He will keep His promises.

Why did the thousand fall at your right side and the ten thousand at your left side? God knows. You, for your part, need to lock in on who He is and on what He says. Tunnel vision!

You might say, “But I’ve had enough disappointments in my own life. I don’t need to think about anyone else. I’m finding it hard to believe based on my own track record.”

If that’s the case, I’d encourage you to step back and refresh your own soul. Instead of trying to produce faith or work up belief, take some time to meet with the Lord, to meditate on His Word, to take in some encouraging testimonies, and to come to a firm conviction as to what you believe. Once you do, hold on with all your might. Our God is trustworthy.

Distractions

It’s also essential that we don’t let other voices – meaning those outside of our own heads – distract us.

The Gospels tell us that while Jesus was on His way to heal the daughter of a synagogue ruler named Jairus, He was delayed because of the healing of a woman in the crowd. At that very moment, as Jesus was interacting with this woman, “

some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark 5:35-36)

Did you grasp the force of Jesus’s words? He was saying, “Shut out the other voices. Shut out those who say I can heal but I can’t resurrect. Shut out the spirit of fear that is so antithetical to the spirit of faith. And do this one thing and this one thing only: believe!”

It was the same with Peter getting out of the boat in the midst of a storm to walk on the water toward Jesus. Miraculously and impossibly, he did begin to walk on the water. It was really happening!

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:30–31)

The wind and the waves will come. We will be tempted to fear, to doubt, to take our eyes off of Jesus. But true faith looks right at Him – in the midst of the storm, in the midst of the chaos of life, in the midst of the frightening medical diagnoses, in the midst of fear and terror, in the midst of our own weakness – and true faith gets the answer.

To be sure, not every sickness will be healed. Not every bankruptcy will be avoided. Not every crisis will have a happy ending. And all of us will eventually die.

But if you have that tenacious faith, if you silence the voices of whataboutism, if you have that tunnel vision that trusts God no matter what, He will bring light out of darkness, redemption out of tragedy, and even life out of death.

Trust Him as if your life depends on it, and You will find Him to be utterly trustworthy.

To repeat the words of the Master, “Fear not; believe only” – and you will see the glory of God (see John 11:40).

 

Dr. Michael Brown is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. He is the author of more than 40 books, including Can You be Gay and Christian?; Our Hands Are Stained With Blood; and Seize the Moment: How to Fuel the Fires of Revival. You can connect with him on Facebook, X, or YouTube.