Throughნიმუში

Desperation can do strange things to a person, especially as circumstances throttle all hope and each day just seems to bring more problems.

When every alternative has been exhausted, and we don’t know which way to turn. When we’ve done all we can think of to resolve the situation, and we’re at the end of ourselves – that’s when we might reach out in desperation. We might grab hold of Jesus, our one last hope.

The story of the woman who suffered from bleeding for twelve years and who reached out for the edge of Jesus’ cloak epitomises faith in action. Think for a moment of her twelve long years of pain. Of the many doctors she consulted, each time with the hope of being healed, only to see that hope crushed as the bleeding continued. Of the humiliation of being permanently regarded as ritually unclean, unable to marry, and unable to have children. Twelve years is a long time in the wilderness.

Then she heard of the healer, Jesus of Nazareth, who had just come to her village next to the lake, and she joined the thronging crowds around him. Too broken to take the chance of further humiliation in front of so many people, she followed him. Imagine the thoughts which must have flooded her mind. In our own experience, how many times have we prayed for healing, for ourselves or for others, and been disappointed? Surely this is how she must have felt as she walked behind him.

Yet in faith, she reached out to his cloak, too afraid and embarrassed to draw attention to herself. As it states in Mark’s version of the event, she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” So she did, but instead of remaining in the shadows, her act of faith was propelled straight into the words that countless generations would read in years to come. No longer an anonymous sick woman, now she became a teacher who showed us the way to live out our faith.

Once Jesus found out who it was who touched him, he said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” It was in her desperation and in the belief that this stranger could heal her that she reached out to touch him. His response reminds us that it wasn’t he who healed her but her faith in him.

There’s another story which concerns faith. It’s about the father who brought his son to Jesus because the boy had been possessed by an evil spirit. After the disciples failed to cast out the spirit, the father turned to Jesus: “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately, the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

We might find ourselves saying the same thing in our walk of faith: I do believe, but my unbelief crushes my faith. Each day we try to take God at his word, we cling to his promises and put our faith into action. But as soon as a new threat looms, we slip back into doubt and fear. The father says, “if you can do anything”. We may also revert to this way of approaching God. But let’s remember the response Jesus gives this man before he heals his son: “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

As it tells us in Romans, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” It’s in the divine interaction between the Spirit of God in us, our saviour Jesus, and the Father, that we’re lifted to a higher understanding of what faith is.

Faith isn’t something we do through gritted teeth.

It’s not in repeating “I will believe. I will believe.” over and over that we come to know God. No amount of forcing ourselves will increase our faith. Instead, we should collapse in our own helplessness, like the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, and grab hold of Jesus. We should admit, as the father of the demon-possessed boy did, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

We should be careful not to confuse faith with feelings.

Emotions come and go, but faith needs to become the bedrock of our relationship with God. As we walk each day with him and start to trust him more, as we see the impact of his promises on our lives, our faith will grow. Faith isn’t a click of the fingers action. It’s a daily opening of our spiritual eyes to God’s presence and an incremental growth of trust in him.

We have the assurance of serving a loving God who desires only the best for us. Just as the woman reached out and as the father brought his son, faith demands action. What do you have to lose, as you make your way through the wilderness? Take hold of him and don’t let go.

A few thoughts to ponder:

• On a scale of 1-10, where would you say your level of faith is right now?
• How can the father's words to Jesus be a comfort and encouragement to you ("I do believe: help me overcome my unbelief")?