On Faith

This year has been a glorious LEAP of faith for me. A complete change of career, finances, marriage, geography, families, and in the midst of all of these whirling factors the Lord has developed an amazing friendship between Mike and me. It's been a comfort and a stabilizing factor in all of this. I'm amazed at how our relationship has grown and changed. The Lord is sooo good!

Yet, there has always been a slight hesitation on my part when confronted with the LEAP of faith. I thought I had It. It being FAITH. However, for a little while now, the Lord has been impressing upon my heart how often I get caught up in the race for a better ‘quality’ of faith or greater ‘quantity’ of faith. I’ve found myself wrestling with big questions and in the process have tried earnestly to have more faith as though it would make big questions more manageable. Yet, the Lord has shown me so clearly in scripture that He never set a standard for faith, He asks us to simply have it. Believe He is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer, and Creator of all earth; simply believe.

Matthew 17:14-20 and Matthew 21:18-22 are two passages I read recently through which the Lord really opened up my heart to understand the contrast of striving for a standard of faith, and simply having faith.

“14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”’ Matthew 17: 14-20

'18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”' Matthew 21: 18-22

I've run through these passages so many times, but during the last week and a half I've stopped to reread and reread again. I've needed to look up notes on them and pray about them. The disciples surely had some faith, but what kind of faith? Faith in Jesus as Messiah or faith in Jesus as a true prophet or anointed one of God? Perhaps it was the idea of being able to cast out demons that was too heavy for them to bear, so their faith faltered - 'surely this Jesus can do miracles, but me?'. I'm struck by Jesus' words in both passages, 'have faith'. He doesn't tell them how much, or when to have it; simply, have faith.


Last night my friend, Brooke, reminded me of Francis Chan's (Cornerstone Church Simi Valley, CA) teachings, and so this morning I listened to an older sermon called, "Living a Life that Matters: Living Courageously". It's a powerful teaching on courageous faith. Francis used Rev 21:8 as a reminder of what God says will happen to the cowardly (don't be scared away -- it's an incredibly encouraging message!); and it hit me hard. The LEAP of faith is about simply having faith in what God has called for us to do, and moving forward with the assumption that He who calls is faithful and will provide. It's living courageously and willingly. So, I'm rejoicing in the Lord today, for what He is doin in my heart and the ways He is revealing what He does with our faith. Ever struggle with this? I'd love to hear what God has been teaching you about living courageously and simply having faith.


Jess