'Have faith in God', Jesus answered (Mark 11:22).
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| Photo courtesy of It's a Keeper |
It's sharp and to the point, leaving no room for interpretation. This verse is Jesus response to His ever questioning (sound familiar) disciples after they noticed the dead fig tree He had cursed the day before. They were surprised that after being cursed by Jesus Christ the tree was dead. His exact words had been, May no one ever eat fruit from you again (Mark 11:14). After reading this story, I'm left wondering why they were surprised. But that's another post all together.
Every day that we wake-up we are given the opportunity to exercise faith. The day may be overflowing with good things, in which we faithfully believe they our gifts from our Father. Some days our faith is tested by sorrow. Then, of course, we all have our "ordinary" days where we practice faith by believing each day has purpose.
That being said, there are two questions I want to ask you, my blogging friends.
1) Do you have faith in God?
It doesn't take much faith to move mountains. Jesus said, ...if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move (Matthew 17:20).
2) Will you act on your faith?
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26). Each of your actions will be different. For some of you, acting on your faith may require a giant leap of faith, while other's actions will seem like baby steps in comparison. Thankfully, we won't be comparing.
When the woman with the issue of blood came to Jesus, she reached out for her healing. Her faith was firm and fully confident in Jesus' healing power- If I touch his clothes, I will be healed (Mark 5:28).
Today God may be asking you to take a leap of faith, or maybe He is asking you to wait in faith. What God is asking you to do is between you and Him. I only ask that you respond in action with faith, remembering that He is trustworthy.
In His Name,
Jennifer
8 comments:
Thank you for both questions, especially how you asked the second. Absolutely right, and I suppose my answer is yes and no, and I quote the man coming to Jesus: I believe, help my unbelief!
I have to pray that same prayer, "I believe; help my unbelief", frequently. Thankfully He answers that prayer! Thanks, Beth!
I sometimes wonder how literal that mountain might be. *grin* The more tangible the problem, the less I "feel" like God is going to manage it, as if he is in charge of all the invisible stuff, but leaves the tangibles to us. How foolish could I be? God has it managed either way, and the only beneficial thing I can do in any situation is trust him and act as if he's really the God (I try to affirm) he says he is.
Wow, Karen, I can completely relate to that. I hold on to those things I can (yeah right) control. Thanks for such a challenging reminder!
For me, #2 is the more difficult question. It is so easy for me to say Yes to #1 but to #2, I faltered so many times. This I need to work on and ask God's help in order to persevere.
Thank you for your very thought-provoking post, Jennifer. God bless! :-)
Irene
Irene, I'm the same way. In fact, I was challenged on my very own words yesterday after posting. You know, our strength may run out, but His doesn't. Thanks, Irene!
I loved how you put Jesus' challenge, right there at the top. At the beginning. It caught my breath.. and your questions prompted me to have to answer simply, rather than giving a whole explanation. That's really the challenge. Can I say, "Yes"? I've been doing that this year and it's felt great, even though things haven't worked out in some cases. I feels good to know I can say "Yes." You know? :)
Thanks, Bonnie, it is truly is a challenge. "Yes" seems so innocent and small, but the implications of saying "yes" can be life changing. I wish I was better at saying "yes". It's awesome that that is where you are this year! Great to "see" you, Bonnie!
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