In such situations (and they are Legion) Lutherans trust Luther's explanation of the Third Article of the Creed that the Holy Spirit "produces faith when and where He pleases
It is a mystery that we will not understand until the last great Day of why there are what appear to be many times when productive faith just doesn't seem to please the Holy Spirit.
I am not talking about the Holy Spirit convicting or producing faith.
I am talking about the part that we as people can do. NOT SPREADING FALSE DOCTRINE. NOT SPEAKING THE TRUTH. AVOIDING SPEAKING CERTAIN TRUTHS BECAUSE THEY ARE HOT BUTTON ITEMS. ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO DO EVIL BY CALLING IT GOOD.
That’s what I am referring to.