Faith!

It was such a joy being with Shodankeh Johnson this past weekend. I think all of us were moved by his faith. Shodankeh has that type of faith that can move mountains.

His faith is straightforward. He believes God will deliver on His promises. He believes God wants to do what He says. Furthermore, He believes God has the power to do it. Nothing can stand in His way.

It seems so simple to say that. Of course God will deliver. We all believe that. 

That being said, why is it so hard to live it out? Why is it only the Shodankehs of the world who have this type of faith?

Why don't we have faith like that?

We find it is easy to believe the promises of God in our heads. But trusting those promises and stepping out into an unknown, that's a completely different matter.

It amazes me the number of excuses and fears that we use in our life to rationalize away our trust in God to work: That can't happen here! Maybe tomorrow, God. Someone else will tell them about Jesus.

Shodankeh's faith humbled me. My faith got exposed. If Shodankeh has faith, what do I call what I have?

Shodankeh's faith didn't discourage me, though. It inspired me. It gave me hope that God could give me that faith. It brought me to my knees.

As I was praying, a Scripture text came to mind that gave voice to my yearning. It was a prayer that the disciples had when they realized their faith didn’t stack up. It was a cry to Jesus: “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5)

Yes, Lord. Yes. Increase my faith.