Enough Faith
Scripture: Matthew 17:14-20 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” 17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. 19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” 20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:14–20 NLT)
Another large crowd was waiting for Jesus, Peter, John and James. Jesus was immediately confronted with a desperate need. A man knelt at Jesus’ feet and pleaded for mercy for his son whose life was at risk. The man told Jesus, “I brought him to your disciples but they couldn’t heal him.” Jesus rebuked the demon and broke its power and it left him. The boy was instantly and completely healed!
After things quieted down a bit, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” Jesus replied, “You don’t have enough faith. If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, nothing would be impossible.” A very tiny amount of faith is enough that if I use it according to God’s will, nothing will be impossible.
How much faith do I have? What am I doing with it? This is not to make us feel condemned or hopeless, friends, but to prompt us to ask some serious questions about our faith and the part it plays in our lives. This may be a helpful way to look at this… Faith is: 1) Belief about God – His will, power, and ability; 2) Trust in God – His character, faithfulness, compassion; 3) Action on our part – Decision, spoken words, act of faith; 4) A mystical component of action by God’s Holy Spirit.
Prayer:
Father, I don’t know what I would have done at the bottom of the mountain with the crowds around and the man desperate for help for his son. I know what Jesus did when he arrived. Jesus spoke in faith and Satan had to let go of the boy and the boy was healed. I want to do better at stepping up and speaking up and trusting you to help and heal and set people free. Please help me to use my little faith to do bigger things!