Episode 2764 - Lesson 8 - Monday May 18 - Jesus sees our faith

Jesus Sees Our FaithCompare how Jesus describes His disciples’ faith in Mark 4:40 with the faith of the woman in Matthew 15:21-28.Just because we’re following Jesus doesn’t automatically mean our faith is strong. In fact, some people claimed to believe, but Jesus discerned what was really in their hearts (John 2:23-25).Read Luke 7:1-10. What do we learn about faith from this account?In Mark 9, we read about the man who came to Jesus so that Jesus would cast the demon out of his son, but who could only muster up enough faith to say, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, NKJV).In each of these interactions, Jesus noticed people’s faith, or lack thereof, and performed miracles as a result of that faith or in order to strengthen it.Though the Holy Spirit prompts us to believe, the enemy of souls wants us to doubt or dismiss God’s involvement in our lives. “The unbelief which is cherished in the soul has a bewitching power. The seeds of doubt that they have been sowing will produce their harvest but they must continue to dig up every root of unbelief. When these poisonous plants are pulled up, they cease to grow for want of nourishment in word and action. The soul must have the precious plants of faith and love put in the soil of the heart and enthroned there.”--Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, p. 17.When we have doubts about God, His character, or His Word, what do we do with them? God does not ignore or bypass human reason, for He created us in His image and invites us to dialogue with Him, as He did with Abraham, Moses, and Job. God invites us to learn to work within His large, infinite patterns of reason, even if at some point we must surrender to what we don’t fully understand.Think of all the logical reason you have for faith. At the same time, at what point does logic stop and faith, solid and reasonable faith, need to be exerted?