Feeding Faith

When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. (Luke 7:9)

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, He encountered a Roman soldier. A friend to the Jews. A good man by all accounts. But it wasn't his goodness that stopped Jesus dead in his tracks....it was his faith.

As Jesus made His way to the Roman soldier's home to heal his servant's frail body, the soldier stopped Him mid-journey saying Lord, don't trouble yourself by coming to my home....Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed (Luke 7:6-7).

Not can, but will....great faith.

Scripture says When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, He said, "I tell you I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel! (Luke 7:9)

He was amazed. Jesus. God incarnate. Creator of the sun and moon and all the stars....and everything else. Stopped in His tracks. Amazed. By His gift, at work in His creation.

Amazed by faith.

We know that God loves humanity...But I've often wondered why exactly God fell in love with us in the first place. I think this portion of scripture gives a little insight into the relationship between Creator and creation.

Humanity was given the capacity to amaze God. Call it free will if you want, but we have the ability to fight against everything we've ever been taught -- everything we know to be true -- and believe that the impossible is, actually, possible. Humanity has the capacity to have great faith.

Faith begins to stir within us when we first stand in awe of God. Maybe faith reaches some measure of maturity in us, when the tables are turned...when God stands in awe of His precious gift shining through our humanity....in spite of our humanity.

Oh, to cultivate a faith that would amaze God, Himself. Faith that the impossible would become reality in a split second. Faith that with a single word, God would change the course of a life. Faith that with a single breath, a life would be saved.

That's exactly what happened when Jesus entered the city of Nain and encountered a funeral procession. A widow burying her son. Scripture says When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. "Don't cry!" He said (Luke 7:13).

God, moved by His creation, intervened. Jesus breathed a breath, spoke a word, and saved a life. "Young man," he said, "I tell you, get up." Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! (Luke 7:14-15)

My father-in-law had a near death experience during surgery, and, let me tell you, he woke up with a story to tell. This boy didn't nearly die. He died, likely for a few days. Can you imagine the story he told? Scripture says he woke up talking. I wish it told what he said, but, I think we get a hint a couple of verses later when scripture tells us that the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside (Luke 7:17).

I imagine that boy told everyone he met about his encounter with Jesus....and the word spread. Faith caught fire from an amazing miracle and overflowed throughout the countryside.

There are times in our lives when faith comes easily, almost naturally. When circumstances seem to be turning in our favor, and we can clearly see the hand of God working for our good, faith is ignited within us.

But there are other times in our lives, when the darkness of our circumstances and the confines of our own personal prisons, make us doubt even the things that we know, that we know, that we know.

Times when faith seems a distant memory and doubt is whispered in our ear constantly by our circumstances, our contemporaries, and our enemy in this world.

Even the strongest Christian is not immune to periods of famished faith. It seems, even John the Baptist struggled in his faith as he sat in Herod's prison.

Scripture tells us that the man who repeatedly proclaimed Jesus Messiah, from his prison cell sent his disciples to ask Jesus "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else? (Matthew 11:3 & Luke 7:19).

Oh, how my heart aches for John the Baptist, even today....because I know how he must have felt. I imagine John began to wonder, how Jesus could really be the Messiah and not be riding in on a white horse to rescue him....and all of Israel.

I can so relate to his struggle. He sat in the darkness of his prison cell and he questioned his faith. I have done the same thing more times than I can count. I have sat in circumstances that I believed could, in no way, be good, and questioned God's goodness...His faithfulness.....His love for me.

I have felt like I have, all but, let my faith die within me, but, the beauty of faith is that it cannot die. Faith is eternal. No matter how dark the thoughts that swirl in our own minds, our faith still burns within us. It may not be an awe inspiring, amazing faith, in our darkest days, but it's still there.

Sometimes faith just needs to be fed.

That's what Jesus did for John the Baptist in his struggle. Jesus didn't answer him directly. That would have taken away His need for faith. Instead Jesus gave him an answer that John could use to feed his faith if he chose to.

Jesus referred to Old Testament scriptures -- the Word of God -- that John likely knew by heart. One of the scriptures referenced says He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed (Isaiah 61:1).

What a personal word of faith to give a prisoner.

God will do the same for us. If we ask Him the tough questions that fill our minds from time to time. If we turn to Him for nourishment in our own dark moments of doubt, when our faith is famished. He will feed our faith with words from His Word that are personal to our own situation.

Faith like that of the Roman soldier, doesn't usually come naturally, except maybe on the heels of a great miracle, but it can be grown...nourished....fed....in each of us....in every circumstance.

That is the gift of faith.

(Journey: Matthew 8:5-13 & 11:1-19; Luke 7:1-35)