Thoughts From Hayley Morgan

Dear Friends,

Today's thought has to do with faith. Actually, it has to do with the common danger of trying to "quantify" something that is as intangible as faith, and then mistakenly use it as the measuring stick of whether we are close to God or distant from God. This selection comes from the devotional book "Always Enough" where the authors encourage believers to stop comparing, stop hiding (stop pretending we don't wrestle with things we do!) and start living in God's grace.

As one who in the first couple years of my Christian walk made the mistake of thinking that my acceptance with God went hand in hand with the strength or weakness of my faith (making me proud and arrogant when I thought I had much, and driving me into fear and despair when I was assailed by doubts), this selection was refreshing. If you are there, you know it's not fun. Even moreso, you know it's not where God wants you to be. I hope these words from Hayley Morgan speak into your situation. Enjoy.

Always Enough... Even When You Feel Like You Don't Have Enough Faith

"Sometimes I wish I had more faith. I wish I were like the people they write books about, the people who believe things that God has only yet hinted at. I wonder if I would feel sturdier and less prone to doubt or worry if my faith muscle were only a little stronger. Often I feel like a lousy believer when I find it hard to believe at all.

Strangely, I have found it easier to believe in the testing times of life than in the everyday mundanities. It's much easier for me to have tunnel vision on the Lord when I'm in one of life's fiery furnaces (Daniel 3). But in the moment to moment, it can be difficult to believe that God is interested in the details of my life. Does what I am doing really matter? Does the person I am becoming really mean much? In response to those fearful questions, I find myself asking God to build up my faith, to help me exercise it, to make it stronger.

The silly thing is, I know the supernatural power that stands behind those who believe. Constantly in Scripture God makes it clear that believing is the backbone of our spiritual lives. Like in Matthew 21:21-22 where Jesus speaks of faith that will wither a fig tree or cast a mountain into the sea. The story is even more interesting when you consider what happened right before Jesus explained that bit about 'faith' and 'not doubting' to His disciples. He struck down a fig tree with merely the words from His mouth and faith in His power. Jesus modeled what He asked the disciples to do.

But what if we don't have that kind of fig-withering, mountain-throwing faith? Jesus has hope for us in that too. In Luke 17:5-6, in a similar situation, the disciples were begging Jesus to increase their faith. They wanted a giant kind of faith, enough even to do miracles and many good works. But Jesus simply said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you" (ESV). All that's needed is a tiny amount of faith. With the littlest bit of belief, God can work supernaturally through us.

In the parable of the mustard seed (found in Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32, and Luke 13:18-19) Jesus told a beautiful story of the ittiest-bittiest mustard seed being planted deep in the dark, wet, earth. From there, it sprang up bigger than the herbs and into a large tree. That large tree was big enough to shade birds from the elements and house them in its branches. How is that for beautiful faith!? We have enough if we have just the smallest amount. If we are clinging to just a shred of belief, God can grow it into something sturdy, substantial, and wonderful. And in the meantime, He says that because of God's power, even that mustard-seed-sized-faith is mighty enough to do other-worldly things and bring God great glory."

The danger in trying to quantify faith is that in our culture we can mistakenly tend to think that a lot is always better than a little. Much is always preferable to a smaller amount. Yet, the problem is: people who think they have great faith can tend to look to their faith, and put their faith in their faith, and place their confidence in their faith, whereas people with little faith tend to look to the Lord, and put all their confidence in Him - since they have no other option. And is that not what God wants? Is it not better to have mustard seed size faith (which Jesus says is more than sufficient!) in the greatness and ability of God, than great faith in one's own ability to believe? After all, faith is never meant to be the object of our faith, the Lord is!

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart..." (Proverbs 3:5). "Look unto ME all you ends of the earth and be saved" (Isaiah 45:22). "Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved" (Acts 16:31). "Have faith in me," says Jesus in John 7:38. The Lord -- in His power, faithfulness, love, graciousness, and promise to provide for our needs and more -- is to be the object of our faith. And, yes, the smallest amount of faith directed toward Him, saves. It even keeps us constantly relying upon Him.

As John Murray rightly points out, "It is not faith that saves, but faith in Jesus Christ; strictly speaking, it is not even faith in Christ that saves, but Christ that saves through faith." How much faith? The great Puritan, Richard Sibbes, following the lead of Jesus who said that a little was enough, once wrote, "Even a weak hand may receive a rich jewel. A few grapes will show that the plant is a vine, and not a thorn. It is one thing to be deficient in grace, and another thing to lack it altogether. God knows we have nothing of ourselves." Often, a little is all you need, for nothing drives us to cast ourselves upon God more than knowing our need.

So thankful for His grace, Pastor Jeff