by Annette Bridges. ©2010. All rights reserved.
“Where is your faith?” Jesus once asked. (Luke 8:25) He proclaimed that faith as a grain of mustard seed was powerful. (Matthew 17:20) Many times he told people who had been healed, “Thy faith made thee whole.” (Matthew 9:22, Mark 10:52) Faith definitely carried a lot of weight with Jesus!
Perhaps this is why he reprimanded his doubting disciple Thomas and said, “Because you have seen me you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet believe.” (John 20:29)
How many times when making a resolution, taking an action or when thinking about something you’re striving or hoping for, are you apprehensive, doubtful, leery, skeptical, unbelieving, wary or uptight about the desired results?
I found it compelling that this list of adjectives was among synonyms for those “without faith” in light of another saying of Jesus: “…according to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29)
Could it be that our tentative and timid faith becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy?
This reminds me of when Moses led the Children of Israel through the wilderness for forty years in search of the Promised Land. I can’t help but wonder that perhaps they would have reached their desired destination quicker if they had not lost their faith so many times.
So what is it about faith that is so very powerful?
If our list of adjectives above gives us an indication of what it means to live without faith, perhaps we need to better understand what having faith entails.
The innocence of youth is often equated with blind belief, as if blind belief was somehow defining the meaning of faith. Hardly, my friends!
It seems to me that there’s nothing blind about the faith of children. Yes, children trust without question. They believe with conviction. Their confidence is unwavering. And their expectancy is definite. There is nothing provisional or hesitant about the faith of a child.
Children have faith because they know in their hearts what is true. Their faith rests entirely upon the certainty of their knowledge. So, of course, children are confident. Of course, they have no fear. Of course, they have no reason to doubt.
Oh to have child-like faith! Now that’s what I call having faith!
I’ve had times in my life when my faith was shaky. And it’s been in those times when I learned that my answer was found in “an absolute faith that all things are possible to God, — a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love,” as Mary Baker Eddy writes.
Understanding God as Love, good and all is pretty powerful when you consider what these spiritual facts must then mean for you and your life as a child of God.
God’s love for His children surely means He is “a very present help in trouble.” (Psalms 46:1) God’s goodness must certainly mean He only wants good for His children. And the allness of God undoubtedly leaves no room for “evil” to have a permanent place or be a destructive force in our lives.
I’ve been learning that as I assert my God-given dominion and freedom, my faith brings deliverance and blessings and leads to divine heights.
Your knowledge of God and His promises can transform your world. What’s faith got to do with it? Jesus would say everything!