How Little is Your Faith?

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"  And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.  (Matthew 17:19-20)

Think about this for just a moment.  How little is your faith?  No, I didn't say "How much faith do you have?" or "How big is your faith?"  Yes, I really asked you how little is your faith.

The short conversation from the book of Matthew between Jesus and His disciples took place after a man brought his son, who is described as a lunatic, to the disciples to be healed.  You can understand the desperation of the father for his son to be healed, for the son's condition had often caused him to fall into fire and water, injuring him and perhaps coming close to killing him.  You can almost feel the father's frustration when the disciples were unable to do anything.  Imagine the joy when Jesus placed His hands on the son and spoke the words that cured the condition.  What a wonderful sight it must have been to watch that father walk with his son, for the first time in we don't know how long, without having to worry about what would happen to the boy next.

However, in the aftermath was the frustration and disappointment of the disciples, who seemingly were saying, "Jesus, why didn't it work for us?  We did exactly what we have seen you do!"  When pressed for an answer to this question, Jesus said, "Your faith is too little."

I read this passage a couple of weeks ago, and not for the first time, but this time that statement shook me and made me wonder.  I was reading a story about the men who walked with Jesus closer than any other person ever has.  These were the men that literally wrote the book on faith, penning many of the new testament books.  If these men didn't have faith, then who does?  But, there it was, in black and white, or red and white in the red letter editions.  Jesus was telling these great men that they lacked the basic element to be an effective servant - faith.

I know, He never said that they didn't have any faith.  However, He did tell them that all the faith they needed would be as big as a mustard seed.  That is not very big.  A mustard seed is about 1/20", or about 1 mm.  So, here is this small seed, and the faith of these men is not even that big.  How little and limited must their faith have been, if it couldn't even match up to that little seed?

In his sermon this morning, my pastor, Rob Ray, stated that often we become so enamored and engrossed in methodologies for doing things in the church that we forget to include the God who called us to do the thing.  (Before anyone who was there gets upset, I know this is not an exact quote, but you get the idea!)  I think that is what happened to the disciples here.  They did everything that they had seen Jesus do, but they forgot two key things.  First, the same method will not work for every issue, and second, before you attempt anything, yo have to pray for God's guidance.

This leads me back to my initial question.  How little is your faith?  When you ask God for something, are you trusting Him that He can do what you have asked?  Now, I am NOT saying that if you ask God for something and He doesn't give it that there is a problem with you.  What I am saying is, if it is important enough to go to God with it, go with confidence and know that He will answer your prayer in His time and in His will.  Trust Him that in things small or things large, our God is always for us and will do what is best for us!

Finally, if you are going to exercise faith in prayer, GO BIG!  Now, I am not advocating a "name it and claim it" or prosperity gospel.  That is not what Jesus tells us about the nature of God.  Jesus Himself prayed for the Father's will to be done.  But, Jesus did say that if we asked, God would give.  If you couple these two ideas together, you find that if we are truly walking with God, we will only ask for things that line up with His will.  But, the only way to know His will is to ask.  The worst that can happen is that He says no, but He will guide us to what we need.

So, how little is your faith?  Exercise it, and see if it won't grow!

Times of Trouble

Psalm 3

1 O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah 3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah 5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. 7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. 8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah

How many times have we raised a cry for help because it seemed nothing was going right for us? How many times has it seemed that nobody cared about us, and that those people who did care just wanted to hurt us? Every circumstance is negative, every decision a bad one, every relationship failed. The job, the finances, the spouse, the children, and even the church all seemed to plot against us. In times like these, what is a person supposed to do?

When King David wrote this psalm, his son Absalom had led a rebellion against David and had tried to murder him. I can't think of much worse than losing my kingdom and my life because one of my own children tried to kill me. Not only was David facing an enemy in his own son, but Absalom had raised an army to fight against David. He had a lot of support in this temper tantrum and attempted overthrow. David faced more enemies than he could count, and many of them were all saying the same thing - there was no hope, not in David himself, his abilities, or his friends, and certainly not in God. What, then, is a person supposed to do in this circumstance?

Go to sleep.

That's right, just go to sleep. That's what David did. He just went to sleep.

David knew where his protection came from. As hopeless as the situation seemed from a human perspective, David knew that all was not lost. David called Jehovah his shield (protecting him), his glory (giving him his position and place of honor), and the lifter of his head (encouraging him). He also knew exactly how to receive what he neeeded from God. He prayed, and when he prayed, God answered. So David went to sleep.

Sometimes that is all we need to do after we pray. God hears us. God also knows how He is going to take care of us. Sometimes He will give us details, but most of the time he does not. Regardless, we don't have to worry about anything because, as David reminded us, "salvation belongs to the LORD."

So, whatever is going on in your life, pray about it and give it to God. He'll hear and answer. Then, just go to sleep.

Let me know how things work out.

My Future Brides

I read an article the other day about feminist weddings, which at the start didn't make sense because feminism is all about breaking free from the trappings and oppression of traditional roles. Marriage is one of the things that feminism rages against, because they seem to think that being married forces women to conform to some standard that inhibits growth, or something of that sort. Anyway, this not being a treatise against feminism, I'll get to what really hit me in this article. The writer closed with a quote from a bride who said she would not have her father give her away at her wedding, because she couldn't stand the thought of being considered "property to be given away." My heart broke when I read this. I thought that there was a real possibility that this young woman did not have a good relationship with her father. Even if this were not the case, and she is really close to her father, I felt like she at the very least did not understand why a daddy gives his daughter away. This is sad, because a real daddy does this duty as an act of love, not as a business or property transaction.

I have three daughters, ages 1 year, 3 years, and 8 years. God gave each one of them to me and my wife for a reason. The oldest came to us because we followed His will. The second was given to prove that God will take care of us through any trial. The youngest was just a bonus gift, because He loves us and wants to add joy to life. Part of the joy of life is having children and taking care of them. I will spend a lifetime caring for these three beautiful girls, watching them growing into beautiful young women. I will fight to the death for them against anyone who would dare hurt them. I will stand up for them in any situation, but also hold them accountable when they make bad decisions. I will help them learn how to deal with life and all of the challenges that will come. Through all of their lives, they will know that whatever they do, I will love them unconditionally, because they are my children and I am their daddy. This is the privilege and opportunity that God has given me.

One day, some young man will come into each of their lives. He will captivate their hearts, and they will decide to get married. I will go through this three times, and it will be a unique experience for each one. Because I am a minister, I will be able to perform the ceremony for each one. Hopefully they will want me to do this. However, before they get to the vows, I will give them all away to the man who will take over my role of provider and protector. Now, here's the deal, and maybe the part that the young lady in the article did not understand. I will be bringing many of my fatherly duties to an end. The daily provision, protection, and education will be over for me. I will be giving her to another man who will be responsible for providing and protecting her. I'll do this willingly, but each one of these men will know one thing - if they ever fail in providing and/or protecting, and if they ever willfully hurt my baby, I will come after him. There will be no rock big enough to hide him. I will come with all the force of an atom bomb to help him understand that he has failed my child.

No, I will not be giving away a piece of property. I will be giving away three precious jewels that have been carefully preserved and shined to an amazing clarity. I will be letting go of three of the most valuable things I have ever held. I have cherished them and protected them. I will expect their husbands to care for them with exactly the same dedication for the rest of their lives.