The Measure of Faith...

May 2, 2009

Danielle Joyner Kelley

“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 11:6.

You have to have faith to believe in Him.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have faith. Your faith in God’s grace to send His Son to die for your sins saved you. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1-2.

Faith is a struggle, and many handle it differently. So many stories in the Bible show us the reaction of a person when asked to lean on faith. Take these examples:

1) God tells Abraham that he will have many offspring, and although Abraham had no children at the time he chose to believe God, thus we are told, “Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6. Thus, he was justified through His faith in God, just as we are with Christ.

2) God tells Abraham that Sarah will bear him a son. When God told him this we are told that “Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” Genesis 17:17. Then when Sarah heard about this we are told that she “laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, “Will I really have a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” Genesis 18:12-14.

3) God appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush and tells him that he wants Moses to go to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt who were suffering as slaves under the Pharaoh. Moses then asks God a series of questions. “But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'” Exodus 3:11-14.

Then God gives him signs to show him that he will prevail. “Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you." Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground." Exodus 4:1-9.

Even after seeing these signs, “Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Exodus 4:10-13.

4) Mary was called upon to carry the baby Jesus, and at a time where she could be stoned or killed for being unmarried and pregnant, she said simply, “May it be to me as you have said.”

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.” Luke 1:26-38.

5) Peter, Jesus’ disciple, was called by Jesus to get out of the boat and walk on the water. When Peter saw the wind he became afraid and began to sink into the water. Jesus reaches out to catch him and says, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31.

Although all of these people were extremely faithful to God, there are also stories in the Bible where people showed total faith – no questions asked.

1) A Roman Solider, called a Centurion, sent his elders to Jesus to ask for help because his servant was about to die. Jesus was close to the Centurion’s house when we are told that, “…the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.” Luke 7:6-10. The centurion knew that all Jesus had to do was “say the word” because he had faith in God’s power.

2) As Jesus was walking to heal someone, we are told that, “A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' “But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." Mark 5:24-34. That woman had so much faith that all she knew she needed to do was to touch Jesus and she would be healed.

3) Many people were flocking to Jesus to be healed, and we are told that, “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Mark 2:1-5. They knew that all they had to do was get to Jesus and the man would be healed because they truly believed He had that power. And they gave it their all. So faithful in knowing that he would be healed and giving it their all to get the man to Jesus even through the crowd.

All of these people had faith. Moses, through faith, led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt; Abraham and Sarah had a son; and Abraham had many sons; Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus; the centurion’s servant was healed; the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak was healed, and the paralytic was healed.

And how you handle something is a measure of your faith. You can see this in the stories above. Growing faith is a struggle, but one well worth it. “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12.

But you, as a Christian, live in faith. “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Romans 1:17.

What you see and what is seen by you does not save you. What you do and what you see done does not save you. “We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7. Faith requires believing in the “unseen”. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1.

Your faith should bring you security, peace, confidence, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom. “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3:12.

And your faith brings you rewards, so continue to grow your faith constantly, and repeatedly. “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews 10:35-36.

And by the measure of your faith, God will reward you accordingly. He is faithful and watches what you have done. “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24. And even when you fail and have to start all over, He is rewarding you for staying the course and giving it your all. That is faith.

Strive to keep growing your faith stronger and stronger until you will be like the centurion “just say the word” or the woman “just touch and I will be healed”.

“Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Mark 5:36.