In Matthew 17 we find Jesus’ disciples scratching their heads after they are unable to cast a demon out of a boy who suffers from seizers (v. 14-19, 22, 23). When they ask Jesus why they couldn’t deliver the boy, Jesus appears to admonish them, telling them there’s a lack of faith on their part. What seemingly appears to be a harsh statement from Jesus was really likely frustration. These men had already been raising people from the dead, healing the sick, and delivering the demon possessed. So, what happened here?
Jesus said, “Because you have so little faith . . .” (v. 20). Faith can often feel like one of those biblical commands we need to implement in our lives, but have a hard time understanding. In truth, faith is easy to understand if you break it down. Faith consists of two things: belief + trust. When faced with a sin or a difficult situation, you must ask yourself, “Do I believe God’s Word to be true?” If that answer is “yes,” than you must ask yourself, “If God’s Word is true, can I trust Him?” Both of these answers must be “yes” in order for you to move forward because without belief and trust in God, faith is meaningless.
Faith is an action word; it requires that you actually do something. For example, today is the first day of a 40-day fast the Lord has led me to do. In order for me to have faith and actually go without food on a daily basis, I have to believe that God’s Word is true, and that He will sustain all my needs, that He will not forsake me, and like Jesus said during His 40-day fast, that I cannot live by bread alone, but by the Word of God. Because I believe God and His Word to be true, I can trust those words and thus go without food and know without a doubt that I’ll be sustained by prayer and God’s Word.
It is one thing to say you have faith, but quite another to walk in it. The truth is, the Bible tells us that we are all given a measure of faith (Ro. 12:3) and that we are to increase, build, strengthen it and make it grow (Mk. 11:22; Lk. 17:5 Ro. 4:19; 2 Cor. 10:5), so this means we have to continually work towards developing our faith. We do that through purposely choosing to believe and trust God over our flesh, the world, and the lies of the enemy, and walking in Christ, which is faith in action. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing and listening to the Word of Christ.
When we take God’s Word and write it on the tablets of our heart it gives us a foundation of truth that will hold up under any temptation or storm of life. If you want to increase your faith, start by praying and asking God to increase your faith, then look at areas of your life where you have continual failure and give those areas over to Him. Ask Him to show you what you lack: belief or trust in faith? As a counselor for almost 20 years, most times there’s a lack of trust due to being let down in life by others. But we must remember that God is not human. He does not leave us nor forsake us. We can trust Him.
Together, let us work over the next 40 days at where we can increase our faith by giving our weaknesses over to the Lord in prayer, clinging to Him and His Word when difficult situations arise, and by trusting Him when things seem array. He is faithful, and a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him. I believe that to be true, and I look forward to hearing from you about how your faith has increased when our 40 days of faith have ended.
