All who followed Him were healed. Matt. 12:15
It has been insightfully said: “What you do only proves what you believe in.” I encourage you to go ahead and read that sentence again until it speaks to you. Action makes the stuff of faith a reality. If I truly believe God to be good, then I will actively choose to see the goodness of the Lord in every area of my life. There’s an added benefit in this act of worship for when I do this, I become more aware of the things still left for the Lord to repair, uproot, build, reconcile, etc. It’s not a burdensome consequence that stems from choosing to see the good hand of the Lord but rather a motivator to keep pressing on in faith to see greater victories. If God has done such a great work in one particular area of your life then clearly He will continue the good work in you and bring revelation about how to attain the breakthrough in the other domains of your life.
Faith without action is dead. Action without faith is just optimism at work… A type of work that is mechanical, superficial, and short-lived. The enemy will continue to have his way with you without you even being consciously aware of it. Faith birthed by the Spirit is eternal and substantial because it carries the breath and life of Jesus. To allow faith to breathe and grow means you believe that the health of your faith is your main priority. Your faith is living, it’s active, and alive in you. Jesus’ ministry on earth was substantial because it came from the Father. He believed in His Father so much so that He only did that which His Father does… Jesus Christ could only do what He saw His Father doing. The two were One. Jesus’ faith while on earth was completely and utterly rooted in the love of the Father. His faith was alive, living through every Word of God and by the Spirit that energizes the very fabric of life into being.
The faith that Jesus imparts is a faith that brings us from death to life. The faith of Christ draws us into a new way of life. What was once impossible is no longer impossible. For with Christ all things are possible for those who believe. The more we press our faith into motion, the more we will discover the depth, the height, the width, and the length of God’s great love for us. The truest form of worshipping God is by walking out a life of faith in Him. He calls us out of the boat and unto the waters, He calls us to give Him the little it may seem we have while assuring us abundance in provision in all aspects of our lives. The key to abundant living is rooted in compassion and generosity just as Jesus taught His disciples to give and to nourish others even with limited means. In their act of surrender, Jesus literally fed thousands through the disciples’ offering of two small fish and a few loaves of bread.
Faith is activated and mobilized into tangible results when we actually do what we believe in. Let us humble our hearts and begin to see a new side of ourselves. Walk in love and impart your faith unto your beloved, your friends, those in authority over you, and your enemies for the Word of the Lord says:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the one believing in Me, the works that I do, also he will do. And he will do greater thanthese, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12
The quality of our faith is determined by our ability to surrender our character, personality, and even our temperament. We are to let go of our faulty thinking and ask God to deliver us from both the pride and the shame that holds us back from receiving every good gift from our Father. There is now no condemnation for those who are in a Christ Jesus. We have been set free from the power of sin and the bondage of the sin-legacy from past generations. We are a new creation that is now able to freely follow Jesus, able to follow Him well because we have our Father on our side. He has called us by name.
We are God’s forever family and we have access to a faith that is living and breathing inside of us waiting to be unleashed so that we may live out the type of life only the Good Father can give. It’s a life worth living for and it’s a life worth dying for. Step out of the boat, out of your comfort zone, take your name off of the platform of your life, work, ministry, etc. and let the light of His Glory overtake your identity! For it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
All who are continually pursuing and following after Jesus are made whole because Jesus heals holistically, it’s a completed work. Receive all the benefits from the Cross. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Yearn for His will to be your faith walk today and everyday. Then you can test for yourself and prove that His will is and forever will be better than yours… And all of God’s people say: Amen!
Additional Verses: Philippians 4:8; Philippians 1:6; James 2: 14-17; John 5:19; Matthew 19:26; Ephesians 3:18; Matthew 14: 13-21; Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 12:2