I was driving home from work the other day and I had to smile. The world has come to a screeching halt and people are flipping out. We’ve gone from 100 miles an hour, every hour, to creeping, at best. I wonder if the Lord looks down on His children – that’s us – and says oh my youngins, and He smiles. We know full well that our God is not a God who is sitting on the throne laughing at the state of the world. He’s not saying haha, you got what you deserve. He’s not saying you should have, you could have, if you would have.
We know that when life is going smoothly and when life is in calamity, in every circumstance, our God is looking down with tender eyes, with a gentle heart and with pom poms in hand cheering us on. He’s saying – hey guys, I love you, I’m in charge, come over here, nestle right here under my arm. I will give you rest. I will give you what you need. I will give you hope. I will give you… I will give you…I will give you…Just come to me.
You see those are His promises and we know that God always keeps His promises. This is how it works. He makes a promise…He keeps His promise. He makes a promise…He keeps a promise. He makes a promise…He keeps a promise. He committed to us and when we commit to Him all those promises are fulfilled in our lives. Do we believe that? God makes a promise. We believe that promise. He fulfills that promise in our life. Easy-peasy, right? Maybe.
But, if you possibly can, have pity on us and help us.” “‘If I possibly can!'” replied Jesus; “why, everything is possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe: strengthen my weak faith.”
Mark 9:22-23
Have you ever felt like this dude? Jesus, if you possibly can? Are you relating to this father or are you thinking to yourself this dude just didn’t’ know Jesus. How could he doubt Jesus? Come on for real? He must be a weakling in the faith. Before we go getting all Phariseeical and offering the should ofs, let’s be honest. We’ve all felt that way at one time or another, though we may not have said it out loud. How do I know that? Because, Jesus is the only perfect. There are times when our faith is just as imperfect as this worried father. Think about your life, I’m sure there are times you can relate to how this father feels. Maybe your child hasn’t been demon-possessed, but aren’t there other things in our lives that cause us to question, even unintentionally – Jesus, if you could possibly help us…
Here’s the thing, God does not demand us to have perfect faith. He knows we need help with our unbelief. He knows our faith needs strengthened. He accepts our faith, as small as a mustard seed and continues to work in our lives. As we continue to focus growing our relationship with Jesus, He helps our unbelief, strengthens our weak faith, helps us not to doubt. Through His power in our lives, through our surrender to Him, He gradually changes our unbelief, our doubt, our weak faith, bit by bit into a more perfect faith. You see, faith is complete, humble dependence on Him and obedience to His will.
Wednesday
Read Mark 9:14-29. Write down all the red-letters. Make a list of all of Jesus’s statements, one right after another. Do you get a sense of the whole story, just in the red letters? This story could be your story, right? Read the list of red-letters you made. Think about an occurrence or situation in your life and fill in the back story.
Thursday
Read Mark 9:29. What is the key to unlocking our faith? Evaluate your prayer life. Do you spend much time in prayer? Do you ask the Lord to fill you with faith and power?
Friday
Read Luke 17:1-10. Do you feel the same way the disciples did? What is more important, the amount of faith you have or the authenticity, or realness, of your faith?
Saturday
Read Romans Chapter 4 about the faith of Abraham. This faith is not just for Abraham and his children, but this kind of faith is for Abraham’s children’s children, for us today, and for those children of tomorrow. Focus on verses 20-24. Make notes about Abraham’s faith. How can we use Abraham’s faith as an example?
Sunday
Read Psalm 86. David’s faith grew in times of trouble because he knew the character of God. David prayed to God. God responded. David’s faith grew.
Monday
Read 1 Corinthians 1:8. Write down the promises. Read Philippians 1:6. Growth. God promises that He will complete the work He started in us. Look back over your life with Christ. Do you see those completions of His good works in your life, those growths?
Tuesday
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. His grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. Spend time in prayer today thanking God for keeping His promises, thanking God for planting a mustard seed within, thanking God for using His power to grow the seed of faith in our lives and perfecting our faith in and through Him. Amen.
JESUS SMILES
