Fragile Faith

Imagine you trust someone totally, without any hesitation or doubt . You trust that person with your life and you know for sure that they would never let you down, betray you, or in any way hurt you.

I suppose, that is having faith in an individual. To trust someone to the extreme. That's faith.

Christ often spoke about faith. He said if we had very little faith, as little as a mustard seed, we could move mountains. Often, when He healed people He said: Your faith has healed you. Has made you well.

What He meant is, "Your faith in Me, in my power to heal you, to want to heal you, has made me heal you. Your faith has made you well."

So in essence, our faith and our trust in God, in Jesus, is the basis by which, through which, we are healed. The basis through which our prayers are answered. Our faith, our trust, opens the door, the channel, the opportunity for God to answer our prayers, and give us healing, or whatever we ask for, both for ourselves and for others.

So, if faith is the key, the first step, to answered prayers. Then where does faith come from?

Is it something we have ourselves? Something we create and build within us? We decide to have faith, to have trust, in God?

Or is faith a gift from God. Through His grace we have faith. Perhaps in different amounts depending on who we are.

What if we are one of those people whose faith is frail. Weak. Hesitant.

We may have faith when things are going OK in our lives; but then when things go wrong, really wrong, we hesitate. We are not so sure that God is listening. Will listen. Whether He will respond positively to our prayers and our needs.

What if our faith is fragile in times of crisis?

Is that our fault? Is it because we are somehow found wanting in our beliefs? Or is it because this is the amount of faith we have been give by the grace of God?

Don't misunderstand me here ... I am not saying that it is God's fault if I do not have enough faith.

What I am asking is how culpable am I if in my moment of weakness, in my moment of fear, in my moment of confusion, I am not so sure whether God will listen and answer my prayers.

And that's when anxiety sets in. Anxiety opens the door to many other evils. Doubt steps in and plays havoc with our beliefs, with our teaching, and with the very essence of what makes us who we are. And this is the devil's playground to use our worries and fears to his own ends.

The disciples had their moments of doubts. Of fears and worries. And of lack of faith. Peter is an excellent example. Thomas too perhaps. No doubt you can think of other examples, like all of them who ran away when Jesus was arrested.

Did they behave in such a way because their faith was weak? Or because they had not been given enough faith by God's grace?

What kept them going? What kept them hold on to their faith and strengthen it even?

Was it the Holy Spirit when He descended on them at Pentecost?

In my frequent moments of weakness I pray: "I believe, Lord; help my unbelief." Mark 9:24

Faith is not enough

In Hebrews Chapter 11 we read: To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

But what does that really mean? What is it like to have faith, and not only to believe in a living God, Creator of all and everything, but also to be certain in that belief? Without any proof, or evidence whatsoever.

It’s as if to have faith is to believe when your common sense tells you not to.

Often Jesus said to people He has healed: Your faith has healed you. Your faith has saved you.

He taught that if we had faith as small as a mustard seed we could perform miracles.

We read in Mark 9:24 that when a father asked Jesus to heal his son, he said: I believe, Lord; help my unbelief. Jesus took pity on him and realised that the man had some faith, perhaps not enough, but at least he had some; so Jesus healed the man’s son.

This leads us to ask: Is faith enough?

We may have faith, to varying degrees, depending on who we are. But is this enough?

After all, even the devil has faith. He believes in God all-right. He even tried to tempt Jesus often enough. This proves that he has faith, and believes in God. Perhaps more than we do.

So, if faith is not enough; what is missing in our relationship with God?

Trust.

Let us consider trust for a moment. A little child does not question whether his parents care for him or not. It is intrinsically part of his nature to take it for granted that his parents love him and will take care of him. When he asks them for bread they will not give him a stone, and when he asks for fish they will not give him a serpent.

The child trusts his parents and will continue to do so as he grows up; until one day someone may betray that trust and then he’ll become more wary of those around him.

So how about us? Is our faith in God matched with an unshakeable trust that He cares for us, and no matter what happens, no matter how bad things are in our lives, He is there, beside us, all the time caring for us and ready to see us through whatever crisis we face.

Can you imagine the amount of self-control and concentration of thought we should have to believe, really believe, that not matter what happens, we trust that God loves us and cares for us enough to protect us from all evil?

Such level of trust may well be beyond what many of us can achieve; but it should not stop us from trying. Through gritted teeth even. We should pray, over and again, that we trust God that He will see us through this dark period in our lives.

Faith, no matter how great or small, as much as half a mustard seed even, may not be enough. It needs to be accompanied by an unfailing trust that our loving God will never ever let us down.

It is no point having faith in a Master who walks on water if we do not trust Him enough to follow Him.

Faith and Action

What does it mean to be a Christian? To have Faith?

We proclaim we are Christians, we go to church on Sunday, other days even, we pray, and we fast perhaps. But is that enough?

When we get to meet God, will we say: “I helped in church every week. I cleaned the church and arranged the flowers. Please let me in Heaven.” or “I served on the church council for years, I was responsible for the readers’ rota and I read in church on Sundays many times. I typed and printed the weekly church newsletter. Please let me in.”

Is this what it means to be a Christian?

Or should we be a channel of His peace as St Francis of Assisi prayed. Or help the poor and destitute as Mother Theresa did.

"My brothers and sisters, what good is it for people to say that they have faith if their actions do not prove it? Can that faith save them? Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don't have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!” — if you don't give them the necessities of life? So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead." James 2:14-17.

Fragile Faith

 

Some people have great Faith and no matter what may befall them, their Faith does not waver. It is as strong as ever.

Other people however are different. They believe alright, but at the first sign of difficulties they hesitate, and doubts take over, and shake their Faith somewhat.

How does God view these latter people? Does He despair, as Jesus did when His disciples hesitated and could not drive out a demon from a sick child? Matthew 17: 14-21.

Let’s imagine you’re a parent of several children. One of them is academically gifted and does well at his studies; he is also very athletic and excels at many sports. The other child is more pedestrian; a slow learner who is neither academically gifted nor interested in much in particular.

Do you love them equally? Do you pay as much care and attention to both? Do you encourage the gifted one more than the other? Or do you nurture and look after the slower child more to help him gain confidence and improve?

God loves us all equally; yet He knows our abilities and our limitations. He knows that some of us have a fragile Faith that may well falter under pressure. Yet, like Jesus, He may well raise His eyes to Heaven in frustration, but He never stops loving us. He never stops encouraging us to do better, and increase out trust in Him. He allows incidents to happen in our lives to give us an opportunity to trust Him more and more.

It’s the outright rebellious and disobedient He disapproves of – not the hesitant “tryer” who tries his best yet his weak Faith lets him down.

“I believe, Lord; help my unbelief.” Mark 9:24.

Faith and Action.

What does it mean to be a Christian? To have Faith?

We proclaim we are Christians, we go to church on Sunday, other days even, we pray, and we fast perhaps. But is that enough?

When we get to meet God, will we say: “I helped in church every week. I cleaned the church and arranged the flowers. Please let me in Heaven.” or “I served on the church council for years, I was responsible for the readers’ rota and I read in church on Sundays many times. I typed and printed the weekly church newsletter. Please let me in.”

Is this what it means to be a Christian?

Or should we be a channel of His peace as St Francis of Assisi prayed. Or help the poor and destitute as Mother Theresa did.

"My brothers and sisters, what good is it for people to say that they have faith if their actions do not prove it? Can that faith save them? Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don't have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!” — if you don't give them the necessities of life? So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead." James 2:14-17.