True Faith

By Bonnie Ricks, This Day's Devotional Friday, November 28, 2008

Matthew 21:20-22 NIV

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

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Have you noticed how little true faith is being exhibited in today's world - especially by Christians? Oh, we're a busy lot, keeping tabs on what Rush and Sean Hannity and all the other conservative talk show hosts have to say every day. watching the newspapers, and writing letters to the editor about the travesty that is going on in Washington. fretting and wringing our hands over an economy teetering on disaster. covering our cars with bumper stickers and fish symbols. arguing with our friends and co-workers about every issue. organizing church membership campaigns and fund-raising campaigns. picketing the abortion clinics. and some people have even been reduced to murder... doing what they claim is God's work with their own hands.

How many of us get together on a regular basis, just to pray? How many of us have enough faith to pray that God will overcome the evil we see around us? And believe that He will? How many of us have enough faith in God to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He has the power to right all the wrong we see going on around us? How many of us, instead, are reduced to man's agenda and man's methods in each and every thing we do?

Take a look at Noah. God gave him an impossible task. God told him to build this immense ark, out in the middle of the desert, without a drop of water in sight. That was hard enough a task, considering how huge it was. Noah's neighbors probably thought he'd lost his mind. After all, it had never rained before, so why would water suddenly start falling out of the sky? And why would some lunatic build a massive ship in the middle of the desert? Noah couldn't convince his neighbors, but he could build the ark, so he did.

But there was an even bigger task ahead. Noah was to gather up samples of every single animal on earth - male and female, two of some kinds and seven of others. Now think about that. Think about how totally impossible that would be to accomplish! Noah could have easily collapsed under the very thought of what God told him to do. Instead, he believed. He did the part God told him to do. And God took care of the hard part. God gathered up the animals and sent them to Noah. All Noah had to do was make sure they had an ark to walk into!

If you and I and all other Christians had the kind of faith Noah had... if we just believed God and did those tasks He set out for us... if we prayed diligently, without doubt... the animals would come... the mountains would move... the people's hearts would be turned to Jesus. What we need to do is forget about man's solutions to the world's problems, and instead, do it God's way. believe and pray and do those things the Lord has set out for us to do... and leave all the hard stuff to God.

Used with Permission