This verse is both discomforting and liberating. It is discomforting because we don’t want so much to depend on us. We want God to intervene on our behalf regardless of how much faith we have, because we know how weak our faith is. But it can be liberating when we realize that sometimes the only hindrance to our prayers and actions is our faith.

 

All we must do is grow in faith, and then God will act. The problem we face with this is the order. We say we will have greater faith when we see more of God. God says we will see more of Him when we have greater faith. The belief comes first. This causes us great trouble. We wish we could have more faith; we really want to, and we try to muster it up. But we need something to base that faith on, and when our own experience is lacking in the miraculous, our faith finds no footing. We know there is a satisfying level of the faith life if only we can get there. We’ve heard others tell of it, and we believe them. We just don’t think we have the means to get there.

Our three-fold solution is simple.

 

1. We must ask God to increase our faith. This is how a father appealed to Jesus when his son was suffering (Mark 9:24), and Jesus honored his request.

 

2. We must base our faith in God on something other than our own experience, at least until our mind’s beliefs become our heart’s realities. The Bible is the answer. Meditate on the psalms and praises of the Word.

 

3. Worship Him for His goodness, His love, His power, His protection, and more. Saturate your life in His praise, and God will grow huge in your own eyes. And when He is huge, huge things happen—according to your faith.

 

Jesus first made the blind men acknowledge His ability (Matt. 9:28). Only then did He answer. Faith is nothing in itself. It’s the object of our faith that matters. You want big faith? Worship a big God. The rest comes naturally.

 

(I read this devotion years ago in the “One Year at His Feet” Devotional Bible. I keep this devotion in my desk and read it occasionally to remind me how important the process of faith is in the Christian walk. I hope it helps you also

 

In His Service,

Eric Barnes