Faith Power
AM Psalm 5, 6 • PM Psalm 10, 11
Jonah 1:1-17a • Acts 26:24-27:8 • Luke 8:40-56
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
We are often in awe of the power of science. For example, recently NASA slammed a spacecraft into an asteroid over seven million miles from earth to test the ability to change the trajectory of that asteroid. I am still astonished. Am I in a similar state of amazement about the power of faith? Why not?
Over and over as Jesus is healing the sick, raising the dead, performing miracles, he gives credit to the faith of the healed or of those present. In today’s reading from Luke, a woman’s faith healed her of a lifetime of hemorrhaging; a faith so strong that she knew that simply touching Jesus’s clothes would heal her. Like many other times his response was “your faith has healed you.” Following news of the death of his daughter, Jesus offers Jairus the encouragement, “don’t be afraid, just believe.” At the raising of Lazarus, he admonishes Martha when her faith waivers, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the power of God.” The faith of four men who tore a hole in a roof and lowered their paralyzed friend through that hole to the feet of Jesus so moved him he healed that man.
How many illustrations of faith’s power do we need in order to trust that faith is a mighty thing? Later in Luke, Jesus explains that even a tiny kernel of faith can do great things. Faith as small as a mustard seed is powerful enough to uproot a large tree (a mulberry can reach 80 feet tall) and “plant it in the sea.”
This last example may be one reason we too often think that our faith is too weak to make a real difference in our lives. I don’t think that any of us have been using our faith to move trees or rearrange mountains nor do we want to. Rest assured, however, our faith is accomplishing great and not so great things in our lives all the time. Courage rises up when we need it most. Love replaces anger when we are on the verge of losing our cool. When the condition of this world and our country seem more than we can tolerate, patience and belief in a brighter day takes hold.
Your faith is a mighty tool. Never lose sight of that. Just believe. Take a few moments this morning to think about how faith plays a part in your life. What has God done for you (and others) through your faith this week?
Written by Dennis McKinnie
...who loves Fall.