One day an old man was stuck in traffic due to an accident. He watched as many cars turned and went back down the road they came from. But he just stayed still. At one point turning off the engine to save gas. As he waited and traffic began to flow again he breathed a sigh of relief. Got a little agitated when traffic didn’t move fast. But he kept rolling with the traffic until he passed the scene of an accident. After that, he finally got to his destination where a friend was waiting on him. While telling the story, his friend asked why he didn’t just turn around. What the old man said, I’ll explain at the end.
“It will be done for you according to your faith”. Jesus was known to heal anyone who asked him for healing, while he conducted His ministry on Earth. He asked some if they believed he could do what they asked him to do sometimes. Then Jesus would say to the one who asked him, “According to your faith it will be done for you”. I can only imagine now that a seed of belief was watered when the Lord healed or chased a demon from the people who were asking him for healing. There were lessons for each generation after not to call on the name of God and deny His power.
What is faith?
God, who through Isaiah in the 42nd chapter said that he would not “give His glory to another, nor His praise to worthless idols”, is the one in whom my faith rests. God is my faith. I chose to believe the word of God. While growing up, I heard people say their faith was x y, or z; one day it made sense that my faith can only be that I believe in Jesus. For a while, I struggled not to link my faith to a denomination. When the word faith made sense, that I believe in Jesus, I became okay with being a Christian. My head was filled with questions before that as I studied and read the Bible because I didn’t know if I qualified to be a Christian. But the seed of faith planted in me grew.
When we believe in Jesus we believe God; strange things happen in our lives that we can identify as we mature in His Spirit. It is when we begin to live in the Spirit that our faith manifests into the type of belief that allows Jesus to take shape in our lives. The hope of life became reality. The seed of Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” may grow when we understand what Jesus meant when he says, “according to your faith it will be done”. We know that what we ask of God will be done if we believe that God is able when we ask.
While there are some today who believe this will manifest as visible and tangible things such as money. houses, and stuff; The reality is far different as we grow and call on the Lord from a heart that believes. As we believe and things are done, in the will of God, according to our faith understanding helps us to grow. As we grow, we understand why it is important to know the word of God so we can be merciful, because God is merciful and he loves when we show mercy. In the hope of faith, our ambitions will be adjusted to our renewed faith in Jesus Christ.
The proverb that says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so he becomes” is a great example of how one’s faith can shape life. Jesus simplified this proverb by asking the people he healed if they believed he could heal them. At times he would just says, ‘according to your faith so shall it be done for you’. When we understand these words we can then see the potential of what God has in store for us through the act of the Messiah. When we turn to Jesus Christ in faith, we can rightly know for ourselves why he is called a teacher. If we believe our faith in him will manifest into actions that create good outcomes.
What is your faith?
Faith in Jesus and our belief in the word of God produces many good things in us. When we hear the gospel and believe and act on our belief, we get to see the fruit of our faith, because God, through Jesus said that if we believe, what we ask will be done for us. What Jesus says, we know that he is faithful and his word is proven by those who have held up under temptation, by those who were not strong enough, by those who suffer persecution, by those who are going through trials and tribulations today. I can add my testimony to this because I am one of the people who believe and benefit. The word of God is faithful.
If you can believe, then according to your faith what you ask will be done for you. And FYI it’s not just about money, houses, “love”, or owning land. Through the elders and the prophets, the Lord explains to us in the Bible what He wants for us in Matthew 6:33 & Micah 6:8. As for you who choose to believe; may it be done for you according to your faith.
Now the old man thought for a minute – said, “You said you’d be here until two-thirty”. Now his friends said to him, but you got here at two-thirty-eight; you could have saved yourself the trouble. The old man only told him, I know you wouldn’t leave, we’re friends. I believed you’d be here so I waited until traffic cleared up and I got here in time to have this nice conversation. I believed you’d wait until I got here so I was not turning around.
Faith is like a good friend who reminds us – Jesus is right where He said he would be. And according to your faith, so will your search be made successful. Seek the Lord today and have that faith, that it will be done for you.
