A Faith that Amazes God
"When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, 'I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith like this in all of Israel.'" Matthew 8:10
Some days start out quite ordinary and yet somehow they bring us to a place that wasn't expected. Such was the day that I learned my dad was going to have to have emergency surgery to remove a tumor that was pressing on his spine. In the days following, I found myself sitting in the hospital and wondering "Why?". Why this? Why now? Why him? And yet it is in adversity that faith is realized. Walking through trials allows us to see what we are putting our faith in. We all put our faith in something. We might put our faith in our financial status, our abilities, or our own strength. However if we are putting our faith in ourselves, we will eventually come to the end of ourselves. I have found that often God allows trials to come into our lives so that we can see where we are putting our faith.
Right before my dad was diagnosed with cancer, the Lord laid on his heart a portion of scripture from 2 Corinthians, Chapter 1. As my dad was in surgery, I read this portion of scripture to strengthen my weary heart. 2 Corinthians 1: 9 says, "...But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead." Several things stood out to me as I read it. First, relying only on God has to be learned. We aren't going to do this naturally. It is a process, and it will only be learned when God allows us to go through trials that stretch us beyond our ability to bare. Secondly, we can rely on our limited abilities or we can rely on God, who raises the dead. Why would I want to rely on myself, when I can rely on God, who has the ability to bring things back to life? My strength and abilities are so limited yet His are limitless.
Over the course of my dad's battle with cancer, I have watched him exercise his faith in so many ways. From his hospital bed, he shared his faith with the doctors and nurses who visited his room. With each challenge, he has chosen to believe that this is God's best for him. He is choosing not to rely on his own understanding but instead he is choosing to trust that God has a purpose in his pain. As I have watched him, my own faith has been strengthened. I couldn't help but think of the story in Matthew 8. A Roman officer comes to Jesus because his servant is sick. Jesus assures the man that he will go with him to see his servant. The Roman officer says, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where are you are, and my servant will be healed." When Jesus heard this, the Bible says that he was amazed. He was amazed at the faith that the Roman officer had. Can you imagine having a faith that amazed Jesus? This is the type of faith that I want. It is the type of faith that I've seen in my dad. This faith that amazes God.
Life is going to happen. Days will start out ordinary and yet the unexpected is going to happen. In those moments, I believe that we have a choice. We can choose to rely on our strength or we can rely on God, who has the ability to raise the dead. We can rely on our own understanding or we can rely on this God who pursues us with love. It's hard. We don't always see the goodness of God in the trial but that is where faith comes in. He has promised that all things will work for our good and His glory. Trust Him and live life with a faith that amazes Him. You won't be disappointed.
Some days start out quite ordinary and yet somehow they bring us to a place that wasn't expected. Such was the day that I learned my dad was going to have to have emergency surgery to remove a tumor that was pressing on his spine. In the days following, I found myself sitting in the hospital and wondering "Why?". Why this? Why now? Why him? And yet it is in adversity that faith is realized. Walking through trials allows us to see what we are putting our faith in. We all put our faith in something. We might put our faith in our financial status, our abilities, or our own strength. However if we are putting our faith in ourselves, we will eventually come to the end of ourselves. I have found that often God allows trials to come into our lives so that we can see where we are putting our faith.
Right before my dad was diagnosed with cancer, the Lord laid on his heart a portion of scripture from 2 Corinthians, Chapter 1. As my dad was in surgery, I read this portion of scripture to strengthen my weary heart. 2 Corinthians 1: 9 says, "...But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead." Several things stood out to me as I read it. First, relying only on God has to be learned. We aren't going to do this naturally. It is a process, and it will only be learned when God allows us to go through trials that stretch us beyond our ability to bare. Secondly, we can rely on our limited abilities or we can rely on God, who raises the dead. Why would I want to rely on myself, when I can rely on God, who has the ability to bring things back to life? My strength and abilities are so limited yet His are limitless.
Over the course of my dad's battle with cancer, I have watched him exercise his faith in so many ways. From his hospital bed, he shared his faith with the doctors and nurses who visited his room. With each challenge, he has chosen to believe that this is God's best for him. He is choosing not to rely on his own understanding but instead he is choosing to trust that God has a purpose in his pain. As I have watched him, my own faith has been strengthened. I couldn't help but think of the story in Matthew 8. A Roman officer comes to Jesus because his servant is sick. Jesus assures the man that he will go with him to see his servant. The Roman officer says, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where are you are, and my servant will be healed." When Jesus heard this, the Bible says that he was amazed. He was amazed at the faith that the Roman officer had. Can you imagine having a faith that amazed Jesus? This is the type of faith that I want. It is the type of faith that I've seen in my dad. This faith that amazes God.
Life is going to happen. Days will start out ordinary and yet the unexpected is going to happen. In those moments, I believe that we have a choice. We can choose to rely on our strength or we can rely on God, who has the ability to raise the dead. We can rely on our own understanding or we can rely on this God who pursues us with love. It's hard. We don't always see the goodness of God in the trial but that is where faith comes in. He has promised that all things will work for our good and His glory. Trust Him and live life with a faith that amazes Him. You won't be disappointed.
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