02/26/2025
This morning, I would like us to deal with the worry that we might have at times, or in some manner or circumstance in which we have doubted that Jesus could help us when we have called out to Him or done some other thing that has exhibited little faith. Haven’t we on occasion dealt with a nagging fear that we might have stood at the well with Him and said... "Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep." Haven’t we told ourselves that we trust Jesus completely but then in a bad situation questioned His ability, and wondered if we were trusting in Him enough?
“The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?”
John 4:11 KJV
“And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Matthew 8:26-27 ESV
Have we ever doubted if Jesus could, or would, help us when kneeling alone in prayer or while waiting impatiently for His recue from a raging sea? Have we lost the firm grip we thought we had on our faith when facing tribulation or while suffering, and sought our own solution out of fear and desperation? Have we ever found ourselves walking the road to Emmaus believing that Jesus may have died on the cross? When we do this where is our faith in the fact that Jesus can indeed draw from the well gone? Oswald Chambers describes such short fallings of faith in these words:
"When it comes to facing Jesus Christ on His own merits, our attitude is one of pious superiority - Your ideals are high and they impress us, but in touch with actual things, it cannot be done. Each of us thinks about Jesus in this way in some particular." - Oswald Chambers
Our faith needs help at times such as these, and fervent prayer is the crutch that will see us through our spiritual infirmity. Trusting in God isn't always easy... He comes to our aid in His own time and in service to His own will. This often puts us at odds with His timing and desire for us; but continuous prayer brings us back into alignment with God's will and gives us the patience we need to wait for His perfect time to come… and wait on Jesus, who can do nothing of Himself, to act.
““I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.””
John 5:30 ESV
Grasping the full power of God is beyond our limited capability. Occasionally we find that we just can't fathom that He will be able to rescue us... not just from the cliff's edge, but from our next step that takes us beyond its precipice. Martha, the sister of Lazarus, felt this way when she told Jesus that her brother stunk in death, but what happened next was a step beyond her prior belief... into the realm and vapor of faith.
“When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.””
John 11:43-44 ESV
All things are possible to Him that created the universe and all that is within it. How foolish we are to doubt His ability to do the things we desire; even those simple things we have asked of Him. If you don’t believe that you have done this yourself then think back on those times when you asked for something in prayer and then left your prayer closet to begin working at doing that thing you just asked of Him yourself. Is that not doubt? Weren’t you still standing at the cliff’s edge… afraid to step out in faith?
“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26 KJV
So, He can raise a man who has been dead for four days, He can heal the lepers and return their skin to that of a child, and He can give sight with some spittle and a little dirt to someone who has long been blind, and yet, we still believe that we must help Him do what we are praying for? Does this sound like true faith?
“When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.”
John 9:6-7 KJV
So, if we believe, truly believe, and we have faith in these things, then how is it that we doubt?
“He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the faith I have, and for the work you continue to do in my life that strengthens it. Father, I place my faith in you. I trust in your promise and your Word. In you all things are possible; strengthen my faith today and give me patience to wait upon you. Lord, never let me doubt in your ability and desire to answer my prayers. Dear Lord, when in my human frailty and shortcomings I can't see a solution, gird my spirit in trust and show me your might and majesty. Let those things I mistake as impossible reveal themselves to me as child's play to you. Restore my soul Father, let my eyes behold your greatness, and make mountains move by my seed of faith in you. In the day of my greatest turmoil and sorrow, come to me and lift me to my feet; let me run and not be weary, and show me your love for me in the face of my uncertainty. For you are my God and in you all things truly are possible. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God in whom my belief is firm, and my faith takes root. Farther, Holy is your Son Jesus Christ who obeys your will and calls out to the dead in unwavering faith… “Come Out”. In Him I believe, and have faith, that on a day yet to come, He will come for us and raise all from the dead into judgement. Hear my prayer for faith today, Abba, and tell me to be still as I wait for you to increase it, and mold it into belief. Praised be your name now and always Lord, and may all glory be yours forever and forevermore.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! AMEN!
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31 KJV
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 ESV
Rich Forbes