Often in our Christian walk we are challenged to wield a faith that moves mountains. The dreaded label of “unbelief” is like a plague of condemnation that many Christians embrace with every failure to demonstrate superhuman power. Not many see the miracles we read about in the Bible or ever experience the healing touch of God, and our first reaction is it is our fault. “If only we had the faith we should have!”
And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
—Matthew 17:18-20
Ouch! Imagine hearing this from Jesus. Well, I believe this is what many of us hear when our acts of faith do not produce a result. Our faith takes a dive when we are more amazed by what the devil is doing than what God can and will do, which I believe is the case with the demonized child of Matthew 17. We hear Jesus saying, “Your fault, you didn’t believe!” I certainly heard those words for many years. The same answer to every failure. After I prayed, why didn’t…I/they get healed, that person’s marriage turn around, I get that job, that weapon formed against me get unprospered (my word), my anxiety go away, that fear leave me, etc. If you have said or felt any of that, you are not alone! Let’s start with some basics about faith. What is it? In the New Testament the Greek word is translated as trust, belief.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
—Hebrews 11:1 NKJV
...and how do we get it?
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word (Rhema) of God.”
—Romans 10:17 NKJV
The word Rhema (that which is spoken) in Romans 10 is the revelatory word you hear from God. Another way to look at it is the thoughts and information revealed by the Holy Spirit is what makes the Bible living and active.
So, working definition…faith, built by the spoken Word of God, is the trust and belief that what we are hoping for can and will happen.
So here’s a question. If faith comes from what the Holy Spirit reveals, who do you think is building your faith...you or God?
Let’s go deeper. Have you ever heard or convinced yourself of these things?
Faith comes by SEEING.
Faith comes by DOING.
Faith comes by SPEAKING.
Faith comes by reading more books, watching people do miraculous things on YouTube, going for it when I want to see miracles, or doing something radical, crazy, or different!
No, No, No…Faith comes by HEARING!
Still struggling with this?
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God
—Ephesians 2:8 NKJV
You have been saved through faith…THAT IS NOT OF YOURSELVES. Why do we believe the faith we were given by God through the revealed Word worked for salvation, but now that we are saved we need to make it our own and work really hard? Still think you are the one responsible for building your faith?
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith
—Hebrews 12:1–2 NKJV
Jesus, the author and finisher (perfecter) of our faith. I can do this all day.
Now, this only makes sense if our trust and belief is in the powerful and faithful One behind our faith. Simply to believe is not enough if we don’t believe…HIM! More on that later. I wonder if the real problem is we don’t possess the faith to do…well, nothing! Many of Jesus commands related to acts of faith are action words. Go, Say, Love, Ask, Seek, Knock. That doesn’t seem like nothing, right? I wonder though if our faith would in fact be strengthened to Go, Say, Love, Ask, Seek, and Knock by doing nothing. Maybe we would participate in greater moves of God because we learned the lesson in the nothing place. The place where God is building our faith instead of us building our faith. Instead, we may read the Scriptures through a filter of works which comes at us as self-condemning rather than life giving. For example, read this verse and take a moment to pray and ask God what it means. For context, you may want to read all of James 2.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
—James 2:26 NKJV
How about it? As you contemplate that verse or passage are you focusing more on your efforts, or God’s? If your focus is more on what you are doing, this article is for you. As we interpret the Scriptures above, we can safely conclude that faith WILL produce action. So how can we get away with doing nothing and that being ok? Here is a simple answer to a complex question…GOD!!!! “Wait, What?!?!”, you ask? Consider this. What if God is more concerned about what we BELIEVE than what we DO? Pulling again from the “faith” chapter, Hebrews 11…
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
—Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
So the belief is in HIM…HE IS alive, HE IS God, HE IS working, and HE WILL reward our pursuit of Him! I believe I can explain this in a practical story that happened to me some years ago that highlights the difference between DOING for God and BEING for God.
GOD IS WORKING!
In the process of selling our house in 2021, we needed to have the insulation replaced in the attic. Two younger men showed up to do the work, and right from the beginning one of them was telling foul and offensive jokes in front of me and my wife. I had a decision to make at that moment. Honestly, 10 years ago I would have called his boss and threw them out. At the very least I would have challenged him and told him he was not going to speak that way in my house. Thankfully the Lord has been merciful to me which has allowed me to see something different. So, outwardly I did nothing. I demonstrated my faith in God by doing nothing that could be recognized as faith. Instead, I said a simple prayer. “God, if possible let me reach this young man. I don’t want him leaving my house the same way.”
During that time a family was coming to our house to pick up an entertainment center that we were giving away. I had the entertainment center positioned in the garage and when the family showed up I helped them load it up on their trailer. It was a man and a young girl. They looked very careworn and I could tell something was bothering them. I asked the Father if he was doing ok to which he replied, “We have to hurry and get this home so we can get back to the hospital. My wife has cancer and we need to be by her side.” I looked at the daughter and she began to tear up. We got the entertainment center loaded up and I said, “Sir, I believe Jesus is a healer. Do you mind if we take a moment and pray for your wife.” Now just to stop you on the, “Hey, aren’t you acting out your faith there Mr. Nothing guy?” Sure, but it was more like I was stepping into a moment. It was effortless, intimate, powerful. They both seemed very grateful. So, we approached the throne hand in hand on behalf of one of His children. They both thanked me sincerely and left.
As I walked up the small hill and back into the house, the foul-mouthed kid walked up to me with a quizzical look on his face. “What were you doing out there?” I told him that I was giving away ou
r entertainment center and they came to pick it up. “No, after that…were you praying for them?” I answered, “Oh, yes the man’s Wife/girl’s Mother has cancer. The doctors are out of options but I believe God can heal her so we prayed.” As we were walking back into the kitchen this young man with all the profane bravado said in a totally different tone, “I used to go to church. I have been running away from God for years.” Wow, God! I bought the boys lunch and then we all chatted for the next hour about God, who He is, and how He loves them. They listened intently, asked questions, talked about their journeys. After that lunch, both young men finished the job with barely another word. It was as if God was working on both of them.
Notice how in that story I wasn’t trying to imagine what God was wanting me to do. I prayed and let it go. God opened the door. He made it happen. I call this “nothing” because that is exactly what it feels like for many of us. We want to perform for God. We are terrified our inaction will equate to disobedience. Please lay down your condemnation, and just be. That is truly what I am referring to by the nothing place. Many of us frequently approach the day disappointed in ourselves, expecting to fail, and fearing we will “miss” God. Well, sometimes we do “miss” it and here’s a story about that.
GOD IS TEACHING!
Around 2019 I was boarding a plane and noticed several very large, smartly dressed humans. They were sitting around a small woman who had her hear down. I realized as I was passing it was Ruth Bader Ginsburg! It’s not every day you see a Justice of the Supreme Court. In that moment I said a simple prayer, “God, if you will give me an opportunity to pray for Ruth Bader Ginsburg I will do it.” I took my seat and didn’t give it another thought. When we arrived at our destination, the big humans got up with Justice Ginsburg and left. I thought, "Well, there’s that."
I exited the plane with the other peasants and made my way into the terminal…and got lost. I don’t know how it happened. I don’t usually get lost in airports but somehow I ended up on the far side of the terminal hunting for the rental car area. I asked an employee where to go and she directed me to an elevator that was even further away. As I boarded the elevator still bewildered by my ability to get lost, I punched my floor number and the doors closed. We went up one floor, the elevator stopped, the door opened, and three very large, smartly dressed humans walked on the elevator. One of them walked up to me within an inch of my face and turned his back, essentially making sure I couldn’t move. Then, you guessed it, on the elevator walked Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Wow, God! I said a little prayer on the plane and there she was!!! I started frantically trying to work out in my mind what to do next. I had this fleeting thought if I make any motion to put my hand on her to pray this big human will rip my arm off and beat me with it. As I was stuck in my thoughts of how to do this, we arrived at their floor at which time they all exited together. WHAT?!?!
All that and I didn’t pray?!? As I arrived at my floor and started walking again I was asking God what all that was about. I didn’t hear an audible voice but in my heart I sensed God was saying, “When you love her like I do, you will not hesitate.” So God was establishing firmly in my heart, there is no condemnation there. He wasn’t mad at me that I didn’t follow through with the door he threw wide open for me. He was teaching me that my ability to love others is directly proportional with my love for God. I learned from it and moved on.
It is important to understand I am not trying to say faith never looks like action. The stories I listed above involved me taking an action to pray or missing an action to pray. In both of those cases, an invitation was given for me to step into something. In one case, it was easy but in the other case I got in my head. In the case with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I fell into the trap precisely that I am hoping you can avoid…getting in your head and trying to figure it out. I believe what we learn when we step back and watch what God is doing results in far more action than we ever would have accomplished trying to make it happen ourselves. I can attest I have prayed for more people, seen more healings, led more people to Christ, and witnessed more miracles since I learned to “do nothing”. Also, this doesn’t mean there won’t be times in your life when God is nudging you to take a significant step because the waiting is over. I have been there as well and once again I trusted God was leading me because my belief in Him was stronger than my belief in myself. Lastly, this article won’t be for everyone. If you are not truly seeking to know the Lord and are more comfortable doing your own thing your own way, this article is not for you.
GOD IS!
So, what can we conclude from all of this? Here are some foundational principles I hope have been proven by this article.
HE IS alive, HE IS God, HE IS working, and HE WILL reward our pursuit of Him!
I have learned God’s faithfulness and God’s power so many times in the nothing place. It’s the place where you don’t have the answers, and you don’t try and figure it out. It’s the place where you release it to God and respond to His move. It’s not pray…and then work real hard to figure it out. It’s not rest in God…and then get anxious about what He wants you to do. It’s the place where you recognize you have nothing, but you know the One who has EVERYTHING. It is the place of God’s power. He makes the way, He creates the moment, He opens the door…and we step into it like we belong there. On the other side of that door is where we learn God’s faithfulness, power, and patience with us. I know God can do anything…I learned it by doing nothing.
Love this!!
Good message, son. Will talk to you about it later.