Read Luke 7:3-10, Luke 8:43-48, Hebrews 11:1 and Hebrews 11:6.
Trusting in something you know to be certain is simple. Trusting in something that you cannot see or prove is a challenge. God calls us to have faith and believe in Him. The rubber meets the road when we actually evaluate what we say we believe and what we actually act on.
Believers have the opportunity to please our God by having radical faith in Him even when we cannot see what He is doing in our lives.
As a father of three kids, I have experienced what it’s like for a child to disobey my desires … proving to me they don’t trust that I know what is best for them. To this day, the most painful and upsetting things my children have ever done are the moments when they didn’t trust me when I knew I was operating for their benefit.
And I believe the same can be said for our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We cannot live this life on our own. No matter the situation, we are not independent beings. We have to rely and trust in God or else this life is impossible.
In the two passages we’ve read today out of the Gospel of Luke, we see Jesus amazed by the intense faith of two believers. If you look at the way Jesus reacted to these believers immense faith in His power, why do we not have that burning desire to continuously show Him our faith?
As the author of Hebrews pens, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see … And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:1, 6).
We must show that we trust our Father by living with great faith in His character and promises.
God we wish to please you and know that by faith we can achieve that. We ask that you help us grow in our faith in your power and will. Amen.
-written by East-West’s Executive Vice President of Field Ministries