Day 26

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” — John 14:12-13

‘Faith’ is one of the most misunderstood words in Christian vocabulary. Many people think it is believing in something you can’t prove. Others think faith is a kind of mystical power, whereby believing something long and hard enough will make it come true. But neither of these is faith. Throughout Scripture, faith is revealed as an attitude of trust in an object, which allows that object to work on our behalf.

We put faith in a chair that it will hold our weight, so we sit down on it. We put faith in a car that it will take us to our destination, so we get in and drive. But it is not our faith that holds our weight, it’s the chair. And it’s not our faith that takes us to our destination, it’s the car. Similarly, it isn’t our faith that brings about the work of God. We place our faith in God but it is God who does the work.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing” (John 14:12). As we place our faith in Jesus, we allow Him to work in and through us. Faith is not telling God what to do but it is entrusting God to do what He wants. For instance, we cannot expect a terminally ill loved one will get well because we ‘have faith that he will’. I have met many disillusioned Christians who ‘believed God’ for their own agenda and find it hard to come to terms with the fact God did not comply – despite their ‘faith’. But that is not faith; it is an attempt to manipulate God. To act in faith is to trust entirely to God with no agenda of our own.

Interestingly, the more confident we are in the object of our faith, the less conscious we become of the exercise of our faith. If I chose to drive across the country in a battered old Model T Ford, someone would likely say I had a lot of faith. Why? Because they don’t have confidence in the car. If I had chosen a brand new Rolls Royce no one would comment on my faith! Why not? Because they have confidence in the car! I actually have more faith in the Rolls Royce, but, in effect, when we congratulate someone on having great faith, we are actually saying we do not think much of their God!

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit will enable me to become more and more like Jesus, so confident of my faith in you that it becomes second nature to me. and thank you, Lord, for being that extraordinary power at work in my life.

To reflect upon: What areas of my life do I need to deepen my faith in Jesus? How is my faith in difficult times? Do I seek God’s will then or perhaps my own?