Taking The First Step
Mark 9:23 (NKJV)
“…If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” – Mark 9:23 (NKJV)
Sometimes we collide head-on with deep personal issues and moral dilemmas that are ours alone. One such dilemma can come when we are challenged and must call upon our faith – only to find that our supply seems woefully inadequate. As a believer, I have been asked the following questions:
- “Where does faith come from? I am not sure I have any faith at all.”
- “My faith is so small – where do I find more?”
Behind those queries lies a supposition; i.e., Faith is a commodity that can be measured. Some people think that within each of us, there is a well or repository into which faith can be poured – if only we can find the secret spring from which it flows. We imagine, some of us, that faith comes from outsidTaking The First Stepe of ourselves. The truth is, most of us feel we do not have sufficient faith – whatever that substance is – to handle life’s challenges.
Let’s look at Mark 9 and Jesus’ encounter with the pleading father whose son was in need of healing. Without warning, the boy would foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth and become rigid. The spirit would sometimes seize him and throw him to the ground. (Today, the boy might be diagnosed as having epilepsy). The man had asked the disciples to pray that his son might be healed, but they were unable to help. Then Jesus walked into the scene and said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (verse 23). This desperate father immediately cried out and said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (verse 24). Then Jesus rebuked the spirit, and it came out.
This father began with some amount of faith when he approached the disciples, hoping to get help, but the disciples failed to produce. How many times have we given up because of disappointment? This man did not turn away when Jesus came but rushed to his side. In this act of his willingness to pick up and try again, it must have been obvious to Jesus that he had a measure of faith, unlike the disciples (in this instance). Matthew 17:20 (NKJV) says, “…assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to the mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.”
Most of us get hung up on the challenge of the mountain and forget the mustard seed. What Jesus was saying is that it doesn’t take a lot of faith; just start with what you have, and there is no limit to what can happen. If you are waiting for your faith to grow, do what God wants you to do. Don’t just sit there, go forward. The Bible has lots of accounts that tell of ‘first step’ experiences. Read these accounts and launch out in faith. Place yourself where you can hear God’s Word and develop your faith.
Prayer
Dear Lord, help me to remember that when my faith wavers, I cannot receive from You, though I want to receive from You. Lord, I believe Your Word; let me not become a doubter. When doubt comes, help me to cast it away because it exalts itself against You. Keep me, oh Lord, from becoming double-minded, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Read: Numbers 12:7; Matthew 17:20-21
Bible Reading Guide: Psalms 117; Colossians 1:24-29; Colossians 2:1-5; Jeremiah 9:17-26; Jeremiah 10; Jeremiah 11:1-17
