Have What Your Faith Expects


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When David went to fight Goliath, he did so already knowing that God would give him victory. David trusted in God, and knew that God would deliver him. We, also, need to have such a faith in God that we know we will receive what we know God wants for us. There are many giants in our lives which God is calling us to overcome. They are tasks which seem so big that it seems we can't possibly be successful. I'm thinking of things like having a godly marriage, raising godly kids, reaching people for Christ, and simply living for Christ in the world. These are all impossible tasks. But God desires that we trust Him, and expect Him to do the impossible in our lives. Read Matthew 9:27-31 This passage starts out with two blind men following Jesus (v. 27). This wasn't an easy thing for them to do! Jesus often had a crowd following Him, so they had to use their ears to follow the crowd. They likely ran into people and tripped over things. And as they followed Jesus, they loudly cried out to Him, âHave mercy on us, Son of David!â By this request, they primarily meant that they desired healing. And they knew Christ could heal them. But I think their cry for mercy was also from God, because even if their primary desire was for their sight, God knew they needed mercy so much more. We need to realize that we are all like these blind men. We get so focused on our problems, and we seek out Jesus in faith trusting that He will take away our problems, but the main thing we need is not for all our problems to go away, but that we receive mercy from God. God wants us to come to Him with the things which trouble us the most, but God also desires to give us that which we need most. So these two blind men followed Jesus, not realizing the main thing they needed from Jesus, but nevertheless trusting that He could heal them of their blindness. And when Jesus entered the house he had been staying in, the blind men barged in after Him. Jesus asked them a question right away (v. 28). Jesus knew that He could heal them, and He knew that they knew that He could heal them, but He wanted them to confess their faith to Him and all who were in the house. It's so important that we not hide our faith before others. Jesus stressed the importance of confessing our faith before others on another occasion (Matthew 10:32-33). Confessing Him before others isn't what saves us, but it's an evidence of the kind of faith that we have, and if our faith doesn't confess Him before others, it's not a saving faith. Someone might ask, âHow much do I need to confess Him before others?â But that's really the wrong question. It really seems to be asking what the minimum requirement is. We ought to want to confess Him as much as possible! That's what the blind men did after they were healed (v. 30-31). Jesus had even told them not to tell others, but they did anyway because they couldn't keep their joy to themselves! Their joy was so overwhelming that they told everyone they saw, despite Christ's command that they keep it a secret. Yet we're given the freedom to tell others about Jesus, but we often keep Him to ourselves. Why? I think the answer is in verse 29. We need to expect God to work in us. We need to be careful that we don't understand this text the wrong way. It's not saying that our healing depends upon our faith. I've heard stories of people who didn't receive healing, how others had told them that they didn't have enough faith. That's not true! It's not saying that our healing comes from our faith. All healing comes from Christ. God still works miracles. Pray for healing. Pray for miracles. And expect that God will bring it about. And it's not saying that if we have faith, God will always heal. Sometimes He chooses to heal, and sometimes He chooses not to heal. But if God chooses not to do so, simply trust that His wisdom is far superior to our own. But how do we expect God to heal, yet know that God does not always choose to do so? I think we can answer this question by looking at the example of the blind men. I think these blind men expected Christ to work in them long before they were healed. They followed Christ expecting Him to heal them. They barged into the house, expecting Christ to heal them. And they answered, âYes, Lordâ in faith, expecting Christ to heal them. Regardless of God's decision, we need to expect God to work in us. If we truly expect Christ to work among us, we need to follow Him where He's leading us. And we need to truly expect Him to use us. When things are going well enough, there's a temptation to be complacent. But this is exactly when we need to persevere in following Christ! Because before you know it, you've neglected your spouse, and you drift apart. Or you neglect your kids, and they resent you their whole lives. Expecting God to work means that we work in anticipation of His work. I think this idea is best explained by giving examples. A man whose marriage is in trouble often turns to God for help. But say you have two marriages which are falling apart. And let's say the man in each relationship cries out to God, "Lord, save my marriage!" After they each pray this, one of the men continues to treat His wife the same as he always has. The other man began treating His wife more special, telling her how he feels, and loving her in ways he never had before. Which man expected God to save his marriage? Now let's say neither marriage heals, and both wives end up divorcing their husbands. Did God let the man down who expected God to work? Not at all! This man is now more patient, more loving, trusts God more, and is more ready for the next thing God would have him do. God normally will not work in our lives unless we expect Him to work in our lives. Another example might be our church. Let's say two of us pray that God would reach people through us and grow us. One of them goes on to spend all of his spare time playing video games, or on the internet, or building up his DVD collection. The other spends his spare time serving his neighbors, telling them about Christ, encouraging his children to get involved in missions activities, and studying God's Word so that he's better prepared to live to the glory of God. Which one expects God to reach people and grow the church? Having what your faith expects doesn't mean always getting what you want. It means trusting God to give you what He wants for you. And trusting God in this way means that we actively pursue those things as well.

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