Reading through Matthew chapters 8-9
this week I was struck by the varying degrees of faith expressed by
the people who encountered Jesus. The leper says, “Lord, if You
will, You can make me clean” (8:2 ESV). The centurion's request is
“only say the word, and my servant will be healed” (8;8). The
disciples are rebuked by Jesus, “Why are you afraid, O you of
little faith?” (8:26). The friends of the paralytic expressed their
faith by bringing him to Jesus (9:2). The bleeding woman was told,
“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well” (9:22). The
crowd in the home of the girl who had died laughed at Jesus (9:24).
The blind men were healed after bring told, “According to your
faith be it done to you” (9:29). And then there were the Pharisees
who said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons” (9:34).
I’m not sure where I would fall on
the spectrum of faith. I would like to be like the centurion and pray
“Just say the word,” but that’s probably rare. Sometimes I
might take the risk to reach out and touch Him. But if I’m honest,
most of the time I’m probably like the disciples and He’s asking
“Why are you so afraid?”
The amazing thing in these chapters
is that everyone besides the Pharisees received what they needed. It
didn’t matter whether their faith was great or small. That is
encouraging news for those of us whose faith is weak. No doubt each
of these people had stronger faith after meeting Jesus than they had
before. Their diseases and dangers were the tools God used to
strengthen their faith. As James wrote,
“Count it all
joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know
that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let
steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).
Most of us want the results without
the tests. We want strong faith without going through the trials. But
God doesn’t generally work that way. We actually can’t know how
strong our faith is until it is tested and proved. We may know the
Bible and believe every word, and yet still struggle with trusting
God when challenges arise. The good news is that even faith the size
of a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). From this verse
we can also find comfort in the fact that the men who walked with
Jesus and watched Him perform many miracles still struggled with
“little faith.” You would think that they would have been His
star pupils, but they failed too. Though it isn’t written, I wonder
if Jesus was implying “If your faith had been in Me instead of in
your own abilities, you could have cast out that demon.”
Moving into a new year, I want to
pray “Lord, increase my faith” as the apostles did in Luke 17:5.
I have to trust that the trials that strengthen faith will be
moderated by the grace and mercy of God. He knows best what is
needed, and He’ll never give me more than He can handle. Whether I can handle it or not is a moot point when God is in control.
“In this
you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have
been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of
your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is
refined by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and
honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise
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opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or
employer.
