June 8
- Four Faith Stories
The LORD said to Abram, "Go
from your country and your kindred to the land that I will show you. I will
make of you a great nation, and I will bless you… So Abram went, as the LORD
had told him. Genesis
12:1,4
Our journey of faith began when we accepted the
Lord’s invitation to follow in His way.
Our challenge is the same as Abram’s, to go into
that unknown future - “Abram set out, not knowing where he was going”. The Lord doesn’t tell us exactly what he has
in mind for us. Instead He asks us to
trust Him – and to trust that His way is the right way for my life. Faith that we’ll make it to the goal God has
for us, one step at a time, trusting that God walks with us. .
As Jesus was walking along, he saw
a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow
me." And he got up and followed him. Matthew 9:9
Matthew was a Jew, but not a man of faith. He had turned his back on his people when he
became a tax collector - a collaborator with the occupying power. That job excluded him from the synagogue and
from the community.
Then Jesus, a Jewish teacher, invites him back into
community – the community of disciples and back into communion with God. He calls Matthew to follow. Matthew doesn’t reply “Follow where?” Without knowing the destination, Matthew
accepts the invitation to renew his commitment to God and revive his faith. Faith cannot see the finish line, but trusts
that a blessing is waiting at the end.
When they had come to the
The promised land - the
The challenge for us is to make a good response to
the “not yet’s” that we encounter. When we are teenagers and want adult
opportunities - when we are bored at work and want a new job - it is very hard to accept a “not
yet.” The challenge is to look for the
guidance from God in the midst of our disappointment, and listen for what he is
saying to our particular situation. “Not
yet” does not mean never. Sometimes we
have to pray and wait.
There Abram built an altar to the
LORD and invoked the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward
the Negeb. Genesis 12:9
Throughout his journey, Abram was never able to see
the big picture of what God had in store for his family. But he found a way to be at peace with his
limited vision. He focused on the path
in front of him. “Abraham journeyed
by stages toward the Negeb.” That’s another way of saying, “one step at a
time.”
Jarius A leader of the synagogue came
in and knelt before Jesus… Matthew
9:18
Unfortunately, his 12 year old daughter had been
sick for several days. Her fever grew
worse, and she slipped into a comma like state.
Then, that traveling prophet named Jesus arrived in their
town. Honestly, Jarius was not sure what he thought about Jesus. On
the one hand, he had heard that Jesus had healed many, even worked miracles.
On the other hand, his friends among the Pharisees were less than
enthusiastic about Jesus. “How can this Jesus really be a prophet of God - look at the
people he
travels with. One of his disciples is that crooked tax collector
named Matthew. And didn’t you hear about
the big dinner party Matthew threw for Jesus and his friends. No one from the local synagogue would go
to a party like that.
Several years ago the country-western singer Garth
Brooks had a hit song titled "I've Got Friends in Low Places." A
young man’s girl friend left him to marry a wealthy man and so he sings, "I've
got friends in low places, where the whiskey flows and the beer chases the
blues away ...."
With a slight change these words could apply to
Jesus: "He's got friends in low places, where the mercy flows and the free
grace is for you and me ...."
Jarius was desperate If Jesus had healed others, maybe he
could heal his little girl.
So he went to Jesus, asked him to come to his
daughter. And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Jarius was relieved
– filled with hope as they started toward his house.
Then suddenly a woman who had been
suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the
fringe of his cloak Matthew
9:18-20
Jesus stops to talk with the un-named woman. You can imagine Jarius
becoming more and more impatient.
Couldn’t this woman wait – my daughter is an emergency – she should get
Jesus priority. Apparently
not. The Lord often says “Not
yet.” That unnamed woman is a contrast to him - for she exhibits a
persistent faith. She had
suffered from her disease for 12 years - time to do a lot of praying - to
question the Lord - why has He delayed in answering?
And yet she continues to wait on the Lord - and she
believes that if she can just get close to the Lord Jesus she will be healed -
a persistent faith that keeps believing and doesn’t give up hope -
that waits patiently on the Lord - and is rewarded: “Take heart daughter, your faith has made you
well - whole - your faith has saved you.” Matthew
9:22
When Jesus came to the synagogue leader's house and
saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, "Go away;
for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. Matthew 9:23-25
Back in 1985 I was traveling in the Soviet Union,
and spent an afternoon in the
In one of the wings of the Museum, the galleries
are arranged so that as you enter the wing you can look down the main hall
into the last gallery - all you can see is one of the paintings in that
gallery - a large canvas with life sized figures - and my immediate
reaction was curiosity - what
is the scene portrayed - who are the figures in the painting.
The artist handled the light and shadows in the painting so that, as I walked toward the
painting, my eyes were immediately drawn to one figure - Jesus, with his
right hand outstretched. As I got
closer, I could see that His hand is holding that of a little girl, lying in
bed, but waking up, lifting her head from the pillow. In the background,
behind Jesus are three figures - presumably Peter, James, and John - looking on with amazement. Next to the girl’s bed are two other
figures - Jarius and his wife - round faced, Jarius,
with a look of joy, and his
wife, weeping and smiling at the same time. The Russian artist had captured that moment
when Jesus, taking her hand, simply said “Little girl, I say to you, get
up.” And she awoke from her comma.
Sometimes it may seem that the Lord has tarried too long - delayed too much in answering our prayer
- but the Lord
is never late. He’s always right on time. Like
Abraham, Jarius was a man of faith, “he grew
strong in his faith, as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God
was able to do what he had promised.” Romans
4:20
But then his
faith wavered, he began to doubt, to lose hope - and needed to hear
some words of reassurance: “Don’t be
afraid, just believe” Keep believing even if the situation seems hopeless - don’t
give up hope, keep believing.
Maybe to some degree you can see yourself in
one of these four stories of faith
* persistent faith, that keeps believing and
hoping, waiting on the Lord
* Or, renewing your faith, reviving it, increasing
your commitment
* Or, maybe your faith wavers and you need
to hear Jesus word; Don’t fear, just believe - don’t
give up hope, keep believing.
Faith and hope - two aspects of the same
reality. Faith is trust directed toward
God in the near term, in the present moment. Hope is faith projected into the future. Hope is faith in the long term. We have hope because we trust God.
Faith - trust - enables God’s power to do
wonderful things in our lives. Our God is able,
trust His promise, for that is faith, which gives us hope.