If you read the New Testament gospel accounts of Jesus' life, it's really interesting to see how often Jesus worked to help people -- not as a result of their faith, but in spite of their unbelief.
And though Jesus works in our lives today as a result of our faith, his actions often are limited by our unbelief.
Take a look at Mark 6:1-6 as an example of what I'm talking about.
Verses 5 and 6 say of Jesus: "He could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.
And he was amazed at their unbelief" (New Revised Standard Version).
Though he did some miraculous works of healing, Mark's account noted that Jesus was limited in what he could do to help the folks in his hometown because of their unbelief.
So -- are those folks who say God can do anything we ask if we just muster up enough faith on the right track? Is biblical faith more "qualitative" or "quantitative"? Many people seem to think they have a right to demand things from God because they've pumped up their spiritual courage and become people of great faith.
Too often, these great faith folks even look down on those who seem to have little faith or who struggle with unbelief.
But the overall tone of the Bible simply won't support this.
Though Jesus often expressed frustration over unbelief, his own teachings indicate he saw faith as a little thing, comparing it to something as tiny as a mustard seed (see Matthew 17:20).
No, Jesus isn't impressed by the quantity of our faith; he's simply asking us to trust him just a little bit.
We don't have to have great faith.
We just have to have enough faith to express it even a little bit, even while we're struggling with unbelief.
God's failure to work in our lives really isn't a "failure" at all.
God's work in our lives is much more contingent on his plan, his will for our lives, than it is on our ability to muster up faith.
He isn't interested in the strength of our faith.
And he certainly isn't interested in what we want to dictate for him to do in our lives! He works at making his will real in our lives, to accomplish his plan for our lives, even when we do lack faith.
What I'm really suggesting is something our pastor said about these verses in Mark 6 at a recent morning Bible study: "Faith makes us open to receive what God wants to give us.
" God knows what's best for our lives and he knows exactly what he wants to give us.
Being alert to his work in our daily lives is the expression of faith we need.
No matter what comes into your life today, God is saying to you, "Just trust me on this.
" I encourage you to let your faith open your life to receive all the wonderful things God has for you today!