Faith Questions
Yesterday we sat in a sermon on Matthew 17:14-21, where a boy with epilepsy is brought to Jesus to be healed. His epilepsy was caused by a demon who would regularly cause the boy to fall into fire and water during his seizures, attempting to kill him. His father lived in constant fear that his child could die at any time.The father brought the boy to the disciples to heal him, and when they couldn't, the exasperated father brought the boy to Jesus. In the gospel of Mark, chapter 9:14-29, the same story is told, with an additional piece where the father says to Jesus that he believes Jesus can heal, but he admits his faith is small. "Lord I believe; help my unbelief!"Now, as much as we tried to resist, both Bill and I went right back to the time when we felt that father's frustration, fear and desperation. Our minds immediately went to Annie, our little 7 year old bundle of seizures who now lives with Jesus in heaven.As we compared mental notes after the service, they were pretty much the same:Did we pray enough? Was our faith too small? Compound all that by remembering that we know by personal experience that God can heal miraculously.So why didn't He heal Annie?And why do Bill and I return to the same cul-de-sac of questions in our minds...years later?! This well-worn path that we find ourselves on anytime the topic of healing comes up.
What helps?
What helps me when this topic of healing comes around is this: Remembering the One who begged for a yes answer to His prayers, and got a no answer: Jesus. Jesus had faith that His Father could save Him from death, but the answer to His prayer in the garden the night before His crucifixion was no.Likewise, the apostle Paul had faith that Jesus could heal him, but the answer to his prayers was no, too.And Bill and I had faith that Jesus could heal Annie, but the answer to our prayers was no.
The bottom line?
I want to encourage you who are praying for healing right now that Jesus absolutely can heal. And when He does, we need to celebrate that. But when He doesn't, it's not because your faith is not big enough. Because as the pastor reminded us, "It's not the size of your faith that matters, it's the Object of your faith."The object of our faith is Jesus, the One who heals both on earth and in heaven. Do you have a faith question that keeps circling around in your mind? What helps you work through it?