In Mark 9, there is a man who brings his son to the Lord and asks Him for help, if He can. And Jesus’ first response is: “If you can?” He says that everything is possible for one who believes. Do you believe that? I do. And to believe or to have faith is not a feeling. I don’t even think it’s an idea. At its heart, faith is an action. Faith is proved in what you do. Faith is released, not owned. Faith is a gift from God. Here is this story from Oral Roberts. People used to come up to him, telling them that they had lots of faith. And Roberts told them: “I don’t care if you have faith, I want to know if you release your faith.” Oral Roberts taught, and I think this is right, that faith is not something that’s possessed, it’s something that’s released. It’s released. I don’t care how much faith you have, I care about what sort of faithful actions you do. And I believe you are braver and more courageous than you know. I believe you have so much power within you. So much life and so much to give to the world, but fear is the one thing standing in your way. Your desire to be safe and comfortable might be ruining your life. And today I want to encourage you that God is calling you to do something great and to step out in faith. Do it! You will be so glad that you did. And even if you fail, it will be one step closer to victory. |