Step Out in Faith

It is sometimes easy to be discouraged and, even, to lose faith. My hope to encourage you with a message of hope this Christmas. I want to stir the faith that is within you, so that you will understand that the promises of God are still true. So, that you know that with God, all things are possible.

How Powerful is Faith?

On one occasion, Jesus taught his disciples saying, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

I can hear you thinking, “Easy for him to say. He is the son of God.” “I’ve not seen any mountains moving in my life.” We all experience tragedies and hardships in life that can challenge our faith.  The truth is, to some degree, we are all affected by a lack of faith.  This reminds me of the story in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus healed a little body at the request of his father. The father pleaded with Jesus saying, “If you can, please heal my son.”  Jesus’ response is amazing: 

“‘If you can’?”  said Jesus. I can almost hear the sarcasm in Jesus’ voice. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9: 23-24)

A Father’s Prayer

This father’s prayer is my prayer today. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” This is such an honest response from the heart of this father and we know that Jesus honored this prayer. I believe he will honor this same prayer from us today. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

This was true of my father. He prayed and believed God for small things. Like the time we were on vacation, traveling in North Carolina. We had a minivan full of people stranded on the side of the road. He had me go outside and open the hood. Then, he prayed for the minivan’s engine. I shut the hood. We got back inside the vehicle and the engine started. It was such a small thing, and yes, we could have called for “roadside assistance,” and I have many times since then. 

Thank God for roadside assistance. However, in this example, the direct application of faith gave everyone in that vehicle a chance to grow faith and praise God.  It has been many years now and my daughter’s friend, Katie, who was in that minivan, still tells the story of how God healed the minivan. 

In My Dad’s Case

God grew my dad’s faith so that he was used to accomplish miraculous healings, even bring a man back from the dead. If you don’t believe me, just ask my cousin Carol or the nurses, who were in the hospital room at the time. Yes, that was one man and one time. People still die, including my father, who died a few year ago at the age of 86. The Apostles of Jesus and other saints of God died as well. I don’t believe Jesus was saying we can recklessly go around moving mountains. He accomplishes mountain-moving miracles for his purpose. His message to us is With God all things are possible. This starts with faith for little things.

Yes, God can grow our faith. This starts with trusting God for the little things in our lives. Our faith grows when we praise God for the little things. “Lord, help me overcome my unbelief!” Now, take a risk and step out in faith, trusting God even for the little things. As a result, you will have experience that with God all things are possible.  Christmas provides all of us the opportunity to grow our faith and to praise God for specific answers to prayer.

Also, see Faith of a Child.

Copyright © 2020 Chuck Locklear