Have Faith in God by L. A. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Mar 17, 1904

“Have Faith in God”

By L. A. S.

It is a great error to put man in the place of God. It is a worse error to put the devil in God’s place. Yet there is a way in which many Christians unthinkingly make this dreadful mistake; of course with great detriment to their spiritual interests.

God is omnipotent. But how often do we see professedly Christian people talking and acting as though they had to contend with an omnipotent devil, assisted only by a God of limited powers. Do we not often meet with just such people in the Christian church?—Yes, it is common to find those there who yield

to the pressure brought against them by the devil, and allow the tide of affairs in their own lives and in the church to be turned out of the channel of God’s providence, as though it were the only thing possible for them to do. They have not the faith to plan and to work for advance moves and victories under their divine Leader. They allow the devil to put himself in the place of God to them and become their dictator, the one whose will must prevail. The devil is never slow to do this when he is given the opportunity.

We need faith enough to keep in mind the great fact that God, and God only, is omnipotent. And we need to remember what “omnipotent” means. It is the devil’s constant effort to work upon us that species of deception which in human affairs is commonly designated by the term “bluff.” His work in this line is stupendous, far surpassing anything ever done by man. His frauds are the greatest known. He goes about like a roaring lion, and he roars out his lies with great positiveness. The greater the lie, the greater is his positiveness and assurance in asserting it. By this and a very bold front he seeks to carry his point and force his intended human victim to yield the ground of faith.

That God hasn’t forgiven your sins; that you can not overcome; that it is impossible to obey God’s commands; that you can not be saved; that God’s promise is bound to fail,—any or all of these baseless lies the devil will shout in your ears in his most positive tones when he sees you starting out to serve the Lord. If you are taking down from its secret shrine some idol that has kept away God’s blessing, you will be certain to experience what the song describes—“Beelzebub came rushing up, and said with awful roar, ‘You can not get along without that shelf behind the door!’”

It is the roar that he relies on to carry conviction to your mind that he is telling the truth. But God’s word exposes it all. It is simply a lying “bluff,” resting on nothing but wind. “We are not ignorant of his devices.”

God is omnipotent; the adversary of our souls is finite. What is finite power compared with omnipotence? What is a drop of water compared with the ocean? a grain of sand compared with a mountain chain? The ocean can be measured; it is not infinite; so that it is really possible to make a comparison between it and a drop of water, or between a mountain and a grain of sand. But not so of a finite quantity and an infinite quantity. No comparison can be made between them. No comparison can be made between finite and infinite power. Omnipotence is infinitely greater than the greatest finite power that is known. Omnipotence means “all power;” and “there is no power but of God.” The very power that is exercised against his truth and his people is power that God permits to the adversary, to make manifest the results of his rebellion.

Let our confidence be in the power that is infinite. Shall we believe the word of the Lord? or that of the arch deceiver? If we believe what Satan tells us, we shall view him as on the throne of omnipotence, with God far off in the background. But if we accept God’s word, we shall see him on the throne of omnipotence, our helper and our defense. “Have faith in God.”

L. A. S.