FRYING PAN FAITH
Scripture for the day: Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you ... “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Thought for the day: How often Jesus said to His disciples, “Where is your faith?” How often He shook his head, sighed deeply within himself, admonished them or reacted in some similar way because they failed, once again, to exercise the faith he knew was already theirs. How often he must have wondered if they were ever going to understand what faith was all about and what a difference it would make in the effectiveness of anyone brave enough to put it into practice and simply live by faith. And how often he must do the same with you and me (well, I can’t speak for you, but I certainly can for myself).
I’ve read the Bible through a number of times; I’ve read Hebrews chapter 11 until I can almost quote it to you. I’ve wondered at the exploits of those heroes of the faith and all that was accomplished simply because they were able to muster the faith needed to be obedient when the Lord called their name. I’ve wondered that so few of those heroes seem to be alive and active today. “Here’s the battle plan Joshua; you’re to get all the believers (children of Israel) to walk around the most heavily fortified, best protected, immovable obstacle in your path to the promises I’ve reserved for you once a day for the next six days. Then, on the seventh day, you’re to walk around the city seven times. Now, as you’re doing this, I don’t want anyone to say a word; there is to be no talking, no fighting, no debate. You are to simply walk around your obstacle, silently and without weapons of any kind. When you’ve completed your seventh circuit on the seventh day you are to shout at the top of your lungs and I’ll do the rest. Now, have you got that?” Can you imagine the looks on the faces of the army commanders when Joshua outlined this plan of attack for them? They must have thought he’d completely lost his mind! No army had ever fought in such a useless, impotent manner before. No people could hope to succeed with such a plan as this. Could this God they were following really bring about the defeat of Jericho in such a nonsensical manner? And yet, here they were, confronted with the same question that faces each of us on any given day: Do you trust Me?
Someone once said this about faith: “Your faith ought to get you in trouble at times. If everybody thinks you are nuts, you may be. It’s OK if some think you are. You’re probably in trouble if no one thinks you are.” They say that Walt Disney wouldn’t even attempt a new project unless most of his Board of Advisors thought he was crazy to try. If they thought it sounded reasonable, he would conclude it wasn’t bold enough.
Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn't. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back. The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish. "Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?" he asked.
The inexperienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan."
Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small. We laugh at that fisherman who didn't figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan; yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith? Whether it's a problem or a possibility, God will never give you anything bigger than you (and He together) can handle. That means we can confidently walk into anything God brings our way
Now go take on your world. - Bill