Misplaced Faith is Useless!

What is 'Faith'? 
Faith according to the dictionary is :- 
1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
2. strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.

Faith according to God's Word is:-
Hebrews 11:1 NLT
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

We often hear people telling one another, "Have faith! You can do it! Just believe in yourself and your abilities! Have faith in me! I will never let you down! Have faith in God! He can make all things possible! Etc."

When do we need faith? Is it when things are bleak and situations are stormy; when someone is sick or dying; when we seem to have exhausted all avenues to resolve a situation? It is true in a way. During tough times is when our hearts will yearn for someone or something greater than us, with greater knowledge and capabilities to make things right again.

Yet, we see people of all ages and races and religions going about with simple, blind faith every day. We sleep every night trusting the sun to rise in the morning. We put our feet in our shoes hurriedly without checking for cockroaches or lizards which may be hiding inside, because we trust that there will be none there. We eat out at a hawkers stall trusting that the food which was cooked by the vendor was not sneezed into. We take a recommended vitamin trusting that it will strengthen us. We take a certain medicine given by the doctor trusting that it will cure our sickness. I can go on and on about how we put our simple blind trust and faith on things and people daily.

A soldier once woke up when he heard a siren and quickly put his feet into the boots to prepare for standby. Sadly he was bitten by a snake which was curled in one of  his boots and he died shortly.  An insurance agent was meeting with his client at a roadside restaurant, when a car driven by a drunk driver swerved into the restaurant and crashed into him. He was crippled for the rest of his life. Neither the soldier nor the insurance agent would have thought that there was danger lurking around the corner. They had simple, blind faith and trust that everything will be alright.

So where do we draw the line? On what or whom must we place our faith? Is just having faith enough? What does Jesus tell us about faith?

In Mark 6 Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith in the people of His hometown. He was amazed that they did not trust Him enough.
Mark 6:5-6 NLT
And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. [6] And he was amazed at their unbelief. ...

In Luke 17:5 the apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus replied that it need not be increased; that faith, the size of a mustard seed will do the explosive work!
Luke 17:5-6 NLT
The apostles said to the Lord, "Show us how to increase our faith." [6] The Lord answered, "If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you!

In Matthew 17 the apostles ask Jesus why they were not able to cast out the demon from the boy. Look at the reply of Jesus below:
Matthew 17:19-20 NLT
Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, "Why couldn't we cast out that demon?" [20] "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."

A mulberry tree's trunk is approximately 45 feet wide. It has deep set roots. To move it would be a humongous task even for several people put together. To move a mountain is not only impossible but it is also unthinkable.  Yet Jesus says both feats are possible if we have faith as small as a mustard seed.

Mustard seed is a common spice used in every household in Jesus' time. People were very familiar with its size. Therefore He used it as an example. On the lighter side, I wonder why He did not use 'a grain of sand' as an example! 😉 Anyway according to Jesus, faith that small, is sufficient to heal and restore.

Where or on what or whom do we place our faith? On our own natural abilities? No we are frail human begins and we can't do anything on our own. On doctors, engineers, lawyers, prayer warriors who pray over us or pastors? No, because they too are human beings. On machines and modern technologies? No they are man made and will surely fail us at one time or another.

Where then do we place our faith? Let us look at what Jesus says again;-
Mark 11:22-24 NLT
Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. [23] I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. [24] I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours.

Jesus gave us the answer here. We must place our faith in God. Not on anything or anyone else. Only God has the awesome power to uproot a mulberry tree or a mountain and throw it into the sea. Only God has the awesome power to heal cancer, to make the blind see and the deaf hear, to raise the dead, to heal emotions, to change a person's character and to give you the job you have never imagined you will get.

Remember that the people in the hometown of Jesus did not trust Him. Let us not make the same mistake as them. There is no other name greater than the name of Jesus in heaven or on earth or under the earth. Whatever we ask in His name without doubting, we will receive.
John 14:13 NLT
You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

In John 15, Jesus explains further.
John 15:7 NLT
"But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!"
Whatever we ask will be granted only when we remain in Jesus. When we abide in Him, we won't ask for worldly riches which perish. We will only ask for what is necessary to live each day to do His will and glorify Him. He will give us what we ask, as long as it is according to God's will for our lives. Just know that a parent won't give his three year old a knife even if he begs for it. Our God is a better parent than any other human parent.

Jesus also warns those praying in faith for others in the following verses: Luke 17:10 NLT "In the same way, when you obey me you should say, 'We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.'"

When we pray for others and they get healed or their problems get solved, we cannot and must not take the credit. We were obedient in carrying out the Lord's work and we must be humble and give Him the credit. 

Now let me give you one last word of hope. There are many if not most who place their faith on past experiences. If someone has the habit of breaking promises, the next time he or she makes a promise, we might not trust them. We get frustrated and even discouraged by their behaviour. When many people die of cancer even with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, when we get cancer, we will be afraid that we will die despite all treatments. When a child does not do well in school again and again, he is branded as a failure and people stop believing that he will make it in life. If you are the parent then you get worried and anxious cause you want your child to do well in life. When someone you love backslides we feel that all is lost and ask ourselves what we did wrong. When someone meets failure after failure and does not see a breakthrough, does not get a promotion, does not get a job, he or she will experience discouragement based on his or her past experiences. It is only human tendency to be anxious based on past experiences. This is where Hebrews 11:1 speaks to us. Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

Let me encourage you if you are one who places your faith in past experiences, like I used to do. Make a decision now, to stop believing whatever evidence you see before your eyes. If you are praying for yourself or someone, your spouse, your child, your sibling, your parents or even your friends, look past what you see daily before your eyes. Form a vision of what you want to see in that person. Form a vision of how you want that person to be. Then thank God, Who is able to do and answer far more exceedingly and abundantly more than what we can ever ask for. Keep thanking Him for healing you completely even if you lay dying on the bed, keep thanking Him for changing the character of your sibling even if he is still a drug addict, keep thanking Him for giving you that breakthrough you are seeking for, although you see no results now. He will make all things you pray for in the name of Jesus, believing, come true. But first He will have to mould each person and let you go through a process. Only when He brings us through this process, we will be able to produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self control. He has His reasons for answering immediately, delaying or rejecting. But we will be wise if we look to Him and Him alone in faith.

Remember there will always be 'Faith Dampers' around, who will try to dampen your faith. They will say things like, "See there is no change in him or her or in you! What is the use of believing or even praying. Just tell him or her off. He or She will never change," or "No use lah! You will never improve or you will never get a job!" When you hear things like this, do not react; do not receive it into your spirit. Just keep focusing and believing in Jesus and His promises. He WILL bring about a change and an answer to your prayer.

We must place our tiny little faith without doubting on our BIG God. Then we will see supernatural miracles unfold before our eyes. It is God Who works through people, medicine and technologies. God is also able to act independently. So let us put our faith only on God and ask in the name of Jesus.  Misplaced faith will not get us anywhere!

P.S. I have seen extraordinary and supernatural miracles happen in my life because I shifted my faith from past experiences to our Saviour Jesus. My desire is for you to encounter the Lord Jesus just as I did.

Mary Augustine
30/03/18