Some years ago I received an urgent call from a friend of mine who attends our church. He was in the hospital and wanted to see me. I dropped everything and headed straight there. When I arrived, I could see the fear and tension on his and his wife’s face. These two had just received some scary news. Chris had a brain tumor. They filled me in on what they knew, but there was a lot of uncertainty. I told them that I believed that God could heal Chris.
God gave me these words, “And if you are struggling to believe, you can borrow some of my faith, I will believe enough for all of us until you believe.” When you surround yourself with faithful believers, their faith will strengthen your faith. We prayed and we kept on praying. God healed my friend Chris of cancer. Later, God used Chris to give me strength and courage as I had my own battle with cancer.
In Matthew 8 Jesus is healing people because of their faith. He also demonstrates power over nature and the demonic. In each case there seems to be a connection between healing and the person's faith. You may ask the question, what if I am struggling to believe.
Read Matthew 9 again and notice a couple of things. This is so remarkable, listen:
Matthew 9:2 "Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith,he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Did you see that? It was not the paralyzed man's faith, it was the faith of those who brought him to Jesus. If you are struggling to believe, then surround yourself with people who are confident. You can borrow some of their faith.
You can borrow faith for a season, but eventually you must make faith your own. You begin by trusting Jesus and putting your whole hope in Him. Then you slowly follow Jesus. You may ask, “How do I do that?” Personal experience leads to personal faith. Experience comes through worship, serving others, studying the teaching of Jesus, finding Christian community, and prayer. When you make faith your own, you can be confident about the future.
The season of lent is a great time to reflect and draw closer to God and ask him for more faith in your situation.
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