I remember when I began my journey of believing for my marriage to be healed. I was in a tough place. I didn’t see any hope, but by the grace of God, I was surrounded by testimony after testimony of marriages being healed. I can remember the stories. They were stories of failure and desperation, but they all ended with details of how God did the impossible. I thought to myself, “Well surely, if God did it for them, He will do it for me.” And that declaration, is how my journey of faith began. It wasn’t that I was full of faith, but I hoped that if I borrowed a bit of theirs, and placed all my eggs in one basket, that God would do the rest. And He did. He carried me the rest of the way. His power enabled me to wait in faith, and believe that He could do the impossible in my life.
We can’t underestimate the power that sharing our testimony can have in the lives of others. I can say for sure that hearing these testimonies changed the trajectory of my life, and the lives of my husband and children. But at the same time, I found these testimonies to be a little intimidating. I heard stories of how much faith these couples had, and I began to wonder if maybe God was able to work in their situation because of the size of their faith. And then, I started to wonder if my faith was even big enough for God to work in my life. I began to think that if God was going to work in my situation, it depended on me. And honestly, that was a bit discouraging. Because I most definitely did not have faith all the time. In fact, in the beginning, I had little hope at all. And when I did have faith, it wasn’t much. For the most part, my faith was attached to my declaration, not what I actually felt in my heart.
So, I had a dilemma. I wanted to fight for my marriage, I wanted to believe that God would bring reconciliation to my family, but was I strong enough? Did I have enough faith? Did I have the right type of faith?
Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:19-20 NLT)
In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up. The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” (Matthew 21:18-22 NLT)
At times, I am encouraged by these scriptures...because with my faith, I can move mountains…with my faith, nothing is impossible. But other times, I’m intimidated by them. Jesus told the disciples they didn’t have enough faith to cast out the demons. And on another occasion, He told them that they have to have faith, and not doubt, if they want to move mountains. But how is this even possible? How is it possible to have faith and not doubt? To me, this feels like a mark that is impossible not to miss. How can we be that perfect? How can we get to a place where we have enough faith? How can we have faith and not ever doubt? The answer is that we can’t. Because we aren’t perfect, we can’t have perfect faith. But there is good news. We are not alone in this. We have a Savior that is perfect, and He works in us to perfect our faith.
Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)
This journey of faith that we’re on is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. This is why Hebrews 12 tells us to run with perseverance. We don’t need perseverance when success is achieved right away. We only need perseverance when we experience difficulty…when we have to fight for what we want. There will be times when fear and doubt begin to set in; there will be plenty of failures along the way; there’s simply no way to escape it. This comes with the territory. Why else would we need faith?
Fear, doubt, and failure do not negate the faith that we walk in.
This is an important fact that I want to discuss. While we want to have perfect faith, we will experience the fear that comes from the facts, we will experience the doubt that comes from the unknown, and we will fail. But, does all of this mean that we can’t move forward in faith? Does all of this mean that we can’t see the power of God work in our lives? Absolutely not. My life…my story, is proof of that. But, I want to take a look at a story from the book of Matthew, so that we can get a better understanding of how faith works.
About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” (Matthew 14:25-31 NLT)
This story includes two of the most profound miracles in the bible. Many times, we point out the miracle of Peter walking on water, but we have to recognize that Jesus walking on water was the first miracle that took place here. Yes, He is God, but He laid down His divinity to become a man, so that He could be sacrificed for our sins. And this man…was walking on water. He is the pioneer of our faith. He was showing the disciples, He was showing us, what it looks like to have perfect faith.
And then, we see the second miracle in this story. Peter sees Jesus walking on the water, and he desires to be where He is. Peter wanted to walk in the footsteps of Jesus…to have faith like Him. So He tells Jesus, “If it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” And Jesus told him to come…that’s all Peter needed to step out in faith. Peter stepped out of the boat, and began to walk on water...he began to do the impossible. But then, he took his eyes off of Jesus, looked at the strong wind and waves, became afraid, and began to sink.
This is the part where we all get frustrated with Peter. He was doing so good…he was doing the impossible. Why did he take his eyes off of Jesus? Why did he pay attention to the wind and the waves? But isn’t this how our journeys of faith have been? At first, we were so eager and excited to follow Jesus, but at some point, we remembered the facts. We remembered that what we were believing Him for was impossible, and we started to sink. This story, of Peter walking on the water, is such a great illustration of what a true journey of faith looks like.
Back to the story…Peter begins to sink, shouts for Jesus to rescue Him, and the scripture says that Jesus immediately reached down and grabbed Peter.
“You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” (v.31)
Usually, when I read this part of the story, I get the impression that Jesus is speaking in a tone of disappointment, at Peter’s lack of faith. But this time, I didn’t get that same impression. Instead, I got the impression that Jesus spoke to him like a loving father would. I got the impression that Jesus wanted Peter to have an awareness of where his faith was at that moment. Jesus asked Peter, “Why did you doubt me?” But I don’t think Jesus expected an answer. I believe that Jesus wanted Peter to see the connection between his focus and his position. He was only sinking because he focused on the waves. But if he had kept his eyes focused on Jesus, He would have continued to walk on water.
When we fail, when we take our eyes off of Jesus and begin to sink, He doesn’t come to us in a tone of disappointment, because of our weakness. Instead, He comes to give us clarity. He comes to show us where we went wrong, so that we can be aware of where we are, and where we should have been. This is how He perfects our faith. He is not a God that disqualifies us based on our failures, He is a God that picks us up, teaches us, and then He put us right back on the path of faith. And we can see evidence of this through Peter’s story.
Peter’s doubt on the water wasn’t the last time He failed. He is known to have made many mistakes, including denying the Messiah three times, but did any of that disqualify him from walking in faith. No. In fact, each time Peter failed, Jesus met him where he was, Jesus picked him up, He taught him, and Peter’s faith was perfected a little bit more.
Our failures are the place where Jesus does the perfecting.
Regardless of his failures, Peter is regarded by many as the first leader of the early church. He is known as one of the writers of the New Testament, and he is recorded to have performed many miracles, including healing a crippled man, and raising a woman back to life.
Now, I just want us to take a second to let that sink in…to take in the big picture. The grace that Jesus extended to Peter, is the same grace that He extends us. It’s so easy for us to get wrapped up in our circumstances—our failures and mistake. It’s so easy for us to get to the place where our failures define who we are. But, we have to understand how our heavenly Father sees us. He doesn’t see us broken, He sees us whole. He sees us washed clean by the blood of Jesus; He sees us as the person that He created us to be. This was the case in Peter’s story.
Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17-19 NLT)
In this scripture, Jesus gives Peter a little bit of insight into who he was called to be. This was Peter’s purpose…the end goal. But how did he get there?...Through his failures. Peter’s failures created opportunities for Jesus to cultivate his purpose. And this is how Jesus works to cultivate faith in our lives.
Are you in a season where you feel the voice of God calling you to trust Him, but you aren’t sure if you have what it takes? Maybe you are like me, and you are questioning whether you have enough faith, or the right type of faith. If so, I want to tell you that whatever faith you have right now is enough. It doesn’t matter if it’s small faith. It doesn’t matter if it’s borrowed faith.
God gives us the measure of faith that we need.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (Romans 12:3 NLT)
So, the question is not whether you have enough faith, or the right type of faith. Because God has already given you exactly what you need. The better question is, are you going to use the faith that you have? Are you going to step out of the boat, and trust that He will carry you the rest of the way. If God gave you faith to begin your journey, He will continue to provide you with the faith that you need to complete it.
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6 NLT)
When will your faith be perfect? On the day that Christ returns. Until then, allow God to continue His work in you. Allow Him to rescue you. Allow Him to teach you. It doesn’t matter how many times you sink, He will pick you back up. It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make, His grace abounds towards you. He is always working in you; He will make your failures work for you. He will perfect your faith along the way.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for the seed of faith that you have planted inside of me. Thank you for giving me the exact measure of faith that I need to do what you have called me to do. Father, I pray that you would give me the courage to step out in faith…to do the impossible. I know that I can not do this without you, but I also know that I won’t have to. I know that you will be with me every step of the way. I believe that you will be there to pick me up every time I fall. I believe that you will teach me, and that you will perfect my faith along the way. So right now, I declare that I will use the faith that I have. I declare that I will wait on you, and I will trust you. I love you. In Jesus name, amen.
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