Where Is Your Faith?

Matthew 9:27-30: “And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, thou son of David, have mercy on us. 28: And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, ‘believe ye that I am able to do this?’ They said unto him, yea, Lord. 29: Then touched he their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it unto you. 30: And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, see that no man know it.”

The Almighty God laid the foundation of Christianity through His only begotten son, Jesus Christ. God created everything on earth and in heaven. He is the provider of all things in heaven and on earth. Christians through Abraham, our spiritual father, had a covenant with God in which Christians are to serve and worship God, while the latter protects and provides for them at all times. There is a condition through which God fulfils His own part of the covenant.

While you as an individual, a spiritual son of Abraham, serve and worships Him; you must strongly believe that He is able to accomplish His own part of the deal, even when you do not see Him. Placing confidence in God or any other creator or being is called faith. In the relationship between God and Christians — His children — faith is likened to a legal tender used for exchange of goods and services in any country or economy.

It is written in the Christian Constitution called the Holy Bible that without faith no man can please God. It is when one is pleased and happy that he/she will release blessings and gifts to people around him/her or even afar. The Angels God sent to promise Abraham a child were well-fed and happy, hence they called Sarah and promised her a child. It was after Isaac had eaten a good dish from Jacob that he released blessings to him. We need to please God with our faith.

Operationally, faith refers to a set of proven beliefs and convictions that would make an individual to trust and commit him/herself on a being or something. Faith is the vehicle through which Christians approach God.

In the lead scripture above, prior to the healing of the blind men, our Lord Jesus Christ asked them whether they believed that He (Jesus Christ) can heal them and they answered in the affirmative. In His declaration Jesus said, let it be to them according to their faith. This simply makes it clear that faith is a key factor not only in divine healing, but also in obtaining other things from God.

In reference to the agreement between God and Abraham, we are sure that while we, as Christians, play our part in the covenant, we strongly believe that at the appointed time God will fulfil His own part. That is why Psalm 50:14-15 advises: “Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the most high. 15: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

The foundation for the protection and prosperity of Christians both here on earth and in heaven has been laid. The second leg is for every Christian to render selfless service to God and his/her fellow human being and God will fulfill His own part. Christians owe it as a duty to let the people outside Christ to understand God’s ways. We must never relent in our effort to continue to call upon Him in time of need.

This is why Luke 8:22-25 says: “Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. 23: But as they sailed, he fell asleep: and there came a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. 24: And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish.

Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25: And he said unto them; where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, what manner of man is this! For he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.”

The people in the ship marvelled because our Lord Jesus Christ commanded the wind to stop and it obeyed Him. It is written that if one has faith as little as a mustard seed, one can command the mountain to move and it will be removed. Our Lord Jesus Christ operates, based on the principle of faith. His expectation is that all His disciples must work and live by faith. That was why He asked them where was their faith. He expected them to faithfully rebuke the wind and tempest to cease even without waking Him from His sleep.

In the beginning, God released commands and everything came into existence. There was no exertion of physical strength to bring the things into existence. This is a clear exercise of faith because God has faith in Himself that His word will never fall to the ground unfulfilled.

Fortunately, God made man in His own image and likeness. He gave man His nature and character. This simply means, we function like God by putting our faith in Him, believing that whatever declaration we faithfully make will be accepted and confirmed in heaven. This is to say that in the exercise of faith, God is at hand to back whatever we declare. Jeremiah 23:22-23 says: “But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23: Am
I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?”

God is not far from us to do us good and satisfy our needs if we are obedient to His counsel. His counsel is to work in faith and obedience to His words. He is always there for us. Again, Acts 17:27-28 says: “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from everyone of us: 28: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.”

It is of necessity, we seek the Lord diligently and faithfully believing that since He created us in His own image, and breathed His own breath into us, we should function like Him; live and move in Him as His children.

We do the work of our father by preaching the gospel to shame the Devil and deliver the people the Devil holds in captivity. Living in obedience and operating faithfully with God will make Him to continue to grant us our heart’s desire in Jesus’ name.