In March 2013, President Obama declined to partake of the main course during a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill because his food taster was not present. A food taster is someone who serves as a guinea pig for his employer, sampling meals and testing them, before they are served to ensure that no one has tampered with them. “Unfortunately, you know, the president couldn’t take that chance,” said Maine Senator Susan Collins when asked if Obama ate at the lunch meeting with the Republicans.
“Then he (Pharaoh) restored the head cupbearer to his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as before”. – Gen 40:21
A cupbearer must guard against poison in the king’s cup and was sometimes required to swallow some of the wine before serving it. And if the taste tester lived, the king would drink. We trust in a lot of things don’t we? Pharaoh had belief in the cupbearer to do his job and let the physical evidence– whether the cupbearer lived or died– to drive his conclusion.
Evidence-based testing seems good and we do it all the time;
- test drive a car before purchasing it
- sample food at a grocery store for taste
- develop a small scale version of a new product prior to launching it to market
However, when it comes to faith, God flips this logic upside down.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” — Hebrews 11:1
Per Hebrews 11, He values a faith that commits to intangible, invisible, and unseen evidence. It means I trust in Him even when my circumstances say otherwise, when I don’t know what He’s up to, and when I can’t see any movement in my situation.
- Sometimes I think He isn’t providing when it’s all in my perspective.
- Sometimes it looks like God has abandoned me when He really hasn’t.
- Sometimes it looks like God won’t keep His promises for me.
- Sometimes I think my suffering has no good purpose to it.
In each of these examples, faith is required based on his character and promises. I often find myself waiting on God to provide the physical evidence first when perhaps He is waiting on me to take the next step resting on who He is and His love of me. He is saying to me that faith is required not sense. I’m realizing for me to grow, He doesn’t want a cupbearer faith. I need to believe in the source not the situation.
Reflection |
What areas are you waiting for God to show you physical evidence first?