BELIEF THAT MOVES GOD
But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come into my home. Just say the word from where You are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to those who were following Him, He said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”
Matthew 8:8-10 (NIV)
Something that seems always to draw the presence of God is faith. It’s like faith is a magnet that attracts the presence of God. Years ago, a mentor of mine said this phrase I haven’t been able to shake. He said, With God, let’s have an expectation without an agenda. This has been impactful to me. Sometimes, I wonder if I miss God because I’ve put Him in such a box that I missed what He’s doing. This Roman centurion had an expectation that God could heal, but he believed that it could be anyway, even with His words. Most of Jesus’ healings came by a touch, but this man knew Jesus’ power couldn’t be boxed in or limited. What if each Sunday we had an expectation that we’d meet with God? What if each day we opened our Bible or prayed, we believed God would truly meet us in that space? May we come hungry and expectant but without our agenda. God’s ways are higher than ours, and our agendas can limit the outpouring of the Spirit. I love how Charles Spurgeon says it: A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul.
God is drawn to faith. In the same way, a lack of belief will limit the miracles we’ll see around us. Often, my kids will ask for something, and I give it to them. Other times, they ask for something, and I don’t because I know that thing won’t be good for them. I have the power to give them what they want, but I have the kindness not to give them that thing even though they can’t understand why. The starting point to deep faith is a deep belief in the goodness of God. He isn’t some genie in the bottle that you have to rub the right way. He’s not a coach you have to please or a Rubik’s Cube to be solved. He’s a good Dad, a powerful Dad. Start there and ask God to move, but don’t limit Him with your agenda. Trust that He’ll move as He sees best, so be on the lookout for Him today!
APPLICATION: Fix your eyes on Jesus and His goodness today.
PRAYER: Ask the Spirit to reveal where you have an agenda for God and release it. Tell God you trust Him and expect Him to work, but you trust His ways of working.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?