We unknowingly and knowingly place our faith in a lot of things and people every day, without a thought of how it will eventually work out. Take for example the chairs we sit on. We just plop down trusting it’s gonna support our weight. We drive through tunnels, over bridges and highways with no thought of them ever collapsing, we get on airplanes and fly for hours expecting a pilot we never met to get us safely to our destination. We trust the words of doctors simply because they went to college and studied medicine. We trust the meteorologist for the weather, we eat at restaurants but never saw the kitchen or the cooks, most people go to bed expecting to wake up in the morning and continue life as usual, we believe because the label says organic that it’s really organic lol, have I made my point yet or do I need to continue? We have faith that all of what I mentioned, as well as your own list, is gonna be alright.
The problem with all that is that no matter how much faith you have in those things; chairs break, bridges, highways and tunnels collapse, planes crash, meteorologists aren’t always accurate, doctors misdiagnose, restaurants aren’t always sanitary, people don’t wake up, and labels can’t always be trusted. But still we have blind faith. My friends, the one who holds your faith doesn’t necessarily hold your miracle if His Name isn’t Jesus. He’s the only One who can guarantee a sure outcome in all of life’s situations. He has a track record to prove it. Those of us who have followed Him have proven it to be so, and because God knows the power that faith produces, He’s placed a prerequisite for it being the only way to please Him. Let’s go on a journey.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:1-3, 6 NIV
The God who holds your faith, holds your miracle. Whatever you need, He has the supply. But in order to receive from Him, you must first demonstrate faith to believe that He’s who He says He is, and that He is able to do what He says He’ll do. God isn’t moved by our words or our tears, He’s not even impressed by how many Bible verses we know, our Daniel fasts or shut ins. He’s moved by faith, little faith or great faith.
“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:17-20
Notice what Jesus wasn’t saying. He didn’t say their faith was small He said they had little faith. They did not believe they could drive the demon out of the child. Their faith was in their doubt, so they got what they expected: nothing! We are the same way. If we’d be honest, most of us go through the aesthetics of prayer, nice flowery words, impressing the hearers but lacking the faith to get God’s attention. I call that wishing or hoping faith. I liken those folks to gamblers, maybe He will, maybe He won’t. God is not a slot machine, all the numbers don’t need to line up, you just need some faith and corresponding action. Whatsoever (anything) you ask in faith, believing He’s able to do it, you’ll have whatsoever you say. And if He gives you a dated or undated promise, you can hold Him to it. (Habakkuk 2:2-3) (Genesis 15:1-6) (Genesis 17:21) It shall/will come to pass. I love reading these words in scripture “and it came to pass.” He who holds your faith, holds your miracle. Have faith in God.
Faith in God, is God doing His will through us. God is the Author of faith. Hebrews 12:2. When Jesus said have faith in God, He was actually saying, Have the God kind of faith. The faith that made the visible from the invisible. Whatever you want to receive in the natural MUST first begin in the invisible realm of faith. Hebrews 11:6 in another translation reads; faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The tangible (substance) hoped for( not yet visible to the natural eye but certain by faith) evidence ( proof without doubting that the One who holds our faith will deliver) not seen (we believe without seeing that it is done) some of you are going uhh 🤔. Let’s look at the verses that preceded the verses above.
“When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
Matthew 17:14-16 NIV
They had the power to heal the child but they didn’t believe they could. That’s why Jesus basically asked “ what am I going to do with y’all? Why are you so unsure about your ability to do what I’ve told you you can do? You don’t need big faith you need believing faith. When Jesus sent the disciples out in Mark 6 He didn’t tell them to use His Name, why? He was still there. He sent them out and gave them authority to do what they had seen Him do. All they needed was the authority that Faith provided. You could say He was building their “faith” confidence. Today, because He’s not physically here, we have the same authority by His Spirit whenever we invoke His Name in faith. Faith in the authority of His Name guarantees He’ll show up. I recall when Sheri was a little girl she developed a sty on her eyelid. Her pediatrician sent me to a specialist who wanted to do surgery to remove it. I wouldn’t consent to it. Instead one morning in prayer I declared, “Jesus! You didn’t make her with a sty and I declare that in the same way you caused the scale to fall off the blind man’s eyes this sty falls off in Jesus Name!” My daughter came running into my bedroom with the sty like a scale in her hand hallelujah! The One who holds your faith, holds your miracle! (See Matthew 17:20) Let’s continue.
“Calling the Twelve to Him, He began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were His instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”
Mark 6:7-8, 12-13 NIV
Back up a minute. These are the same disciples who couldn’t drive the demon out of the boy. What shifted? The God who holds their faith holds the miracle. They finally grabbed hold to faith. Faith not in themselves, but faith in the One who gave the command to go. Our problem is we want to do miracles for the attention and not to point others to the One who performs miracles, I call that the sons of Sceva syndrome(Acts 19). The authority to go and do is faith in action. Believing in the One who sent them out made the impossible possible. In the book of Acts both Peter and Paul walking by faith in the One who holds miracles, told the people that the miracles being evidenced was not being wrought by them but by the invisible Jesus made visible through the manifestation of healings, through faith in His Name. If Jesus holds our faith He grants the authority for our miracle to manifest itself through answered prayer. A well known Christian leader coined this phrase. “Faith gives us access to a realm known only to God.” Let’s look at another scripture.
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 11:22-24 NIV
Did you get what I underlined? The God who holds your faith and your miracles has given us the keys to answered prayer. Don’t doubt in your heart, but believe. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prayed with folks who, after or before the prayer, say these faith canceling words “I hope so.” I’ve had to make them say I believe it is so. And explain that we have what we say or believe. Jesus stressed faith in God, faith in the words we speak. “If you say, if you have faith, if you don’t doubt, if you believe. Jesus spoke those words because the disciples marveled that what Jesus said actually happened. Let’s read what transpired prior to the verses we just read. When your behavior illustrates what you really believe, you’ll get the corresponding results.
“The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit. When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And His disciples heard Him say it.
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
Mark 11:12-14, 20-21 NIV
Let me be clear, Jesus didn’t curse all fig trees, just that one. The signs of figs is an abundance of leaves. This tree had the appearance of fruit, though out of season, but upon closer examination had no proof. This is like people pretending to know Jesus but under close scrutiny, they lack evidence of a personal relationship with Him. Jesus cursed the deception. That tree wouldn’t ever produce. He didn’t stand there laboring over it in prayer, faith spoke, faith walked away believing it was as He said. I like that Mark said “ and the disciples heard Him.” This was intentional. The tree in the natural visible realm, appeared normal, nothing had changed when Jesus spoke or so it seemed, but the next day faith became sight, not for Jesus, but for the disciples who heard Him curse it. Our problem is we pray and go back and dig up the soil to see if there’s evidence that what we prayed for is manifesting, Jesus spoke and carried on knowing that whether they saw proof or not it was already dried up. When Peter marveled at the dried up tree, Jesus said “have faith in God and you’ll do the same if you’ll believe the One who holds your faith, holds your miracle. (Paraphrasing) He didn’t say have faith in yourself, God alone is the Author and perfecter or completer of faith. He is faith personified. Believe in Him and miracles happen.
“One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.”
Luke 5:1-6 NIV
Tell Jesus something He doesn’t already know🤦♀️ He knew they had caught nothing but just like Jesus is wont to do, He never leaves us the way He finds us. The One who holds your faith holds your miracle. He used their boat to preach to the crowd, He also knew that without fish, fishermen don’t make a living. He knew they had toiled all night and wanted to compensate them for using their boat. Plus, He had plans for the man whose boat He specifically chose to sit in. Whenever I hear people say “God took from me “ I cringe inside. He doesn’t need anything from us (Psalm 50) He owns the earth and everything in it (Psalm 24) He’s in the business of getting things to us, not taking away. Peter was exhausted, they were packing up to go home, but this statement made the difference. “Nevertheless, at Your Word” Faith in the One who holds your miracle needs a “nevertheless, I believe but help my unbelief.” That’s small faith, but faith God can work with. Mustard seed faith. Faith so small it requires the faith holder to see it, when no one else can. Peter and his partners received the greatest haul they’d ever had. Why? Faith in the Word spoken by the Word who holds our faith.
Miracles must happen when we trust the One who holds our faith. Faith in the Author of faith, simply believes that all things are possible with God. Faith believes that; we can do all things through Christ, that He will supply all our need, that He still raises the dead, heals the sick, open blind eyes, walks on water, calms the storm, shuts the mouth of lions, takes the heat out of the fire, rains down manna from heaven, brings water from a rock, parts the Red Sea, rolls back rivers, moves mountains, names the stars, calls darkness to light, yes my friend and Faith still leaves the 99 to save one sinner from eternal death. Now, with the authority He has given us we can go and do likewise.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I Am going to the Father.” John 14:12
Do you believe? Then the God who holds your faith, holds your miracle.
God of wonders and miracles, God of power and might. The One who created the world with words. How awesome and amazing You are! As we trust in Jesus we know that nothing shall be impossible to us because He holds our faith. We’re confident that we can do all things through Him. We don’t have blind faith, we have faith that sees the invisible, our hope is grounded in Your faithfulness therefore we don’t lose heart. We have a confident expectation of good knowing that our faith is in the hands of the One who does miracles. In Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
“Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Mark 5:36 NIV
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant