God Is Bigger Than Your Faith

Part 2

In our last writing we looked at how the Lord often works beyond our methods to meet us at our place of need.  My wife Teresa often says, "while prayer is necessary, we need to be careful that faith in prayer above faith in the God of prayer doesn't occur." In the same way I have seen how studying methods of faith can result in faith in faith rather than faith in God.  Last week I told the story of how God reached past my weariness of trying to get healed and healed me in a place of cynicism!  How is that possible?  I had violated a number of learned faith methods and yet was still healed by God.  There is an interesting story of a man in John chapter 5 who had suffered physical illness for 38 years.  He was lying by the pool of Bethesda with the others who were wanting healing at the hand of an angel.  When Jesus approached this suffering soul He asked an interesting question: "Do you want to me made well?"  Certainly the answer to the question is a resounding, "YES"!  Yet, he didn't say yes.  What he said sounds a lot like whining or complaining.  He gave an excuse as to why he wasn't healed.  He didn't seem to have faith.  He didn't have his thinking right.  He didn't have his confession right.  Yet...yet...Jesus healed him!!!  Here is another very interesting thing about this story.  The place of healing was at a pool named Bethesda.  Bethesda is translated, "house of kindness".  It appears the kindness here is from man toward God.  Of course we know that God responds to our kindness with His Kindness.  

Now, what am I trying to get across in these two articles?  First let me say that, of course faith in God is something that grows in our lives and there are principles of faith that brings results of healing and blessing to us from God.  But if we aren't alert we can slip into performance driven faith.  We can begin to think, "if I do everything right according to a certain teaching, I will get my answer."  That attitude could become a hindrance to receiving from God because it is a kind of faith idol that is not necessarily motivated by "kindness toward God."  We can create a "house of Bethesda" in our own lives where we see, believe and respond to God from a foundation of kindness and mercy.

I guess as I write this that I am not really talking to people who are moving in a strong faith stance toward God.  I am speaking to those who don't feel you have it together and at times you don't feel like you have enough faith or knowledge or  discipline to get your answer.  Yet, you have a belief that God loves you and wants only His best for you.  You love God with all your heart but things haven't worked quite like you thought they would.  What do you do and where do you go next?  May I suggest that you quit trying so hard to "get healed".  God wants you to simply and kindly approach him.  It might be that all your struggling and activity has somehow hindered the very thing you need, wholeness.