I am one of those people who love to read, and one of the things I really enjoy reading is Scripture. I personally think God created me to be a nerd who loves words because He meant for me to turn around and use them for His glory. I pray with all my heart that I am indeed doing just that. I recently read two Scriptures that had me digging deeper and looking up the meaning of the word that was used in both of them. Before I share the Scriptures, I’ll tell you what the word was. It was marveled, which means to wonder at or to regard with amazement; or it could also mean, to admire.
Now I would like to share with you the two verses that prompted my study of this word. The first one was Luke 7:9, “When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed him, ‘I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’” The next verse was actually two verses, Mark 6:5-6, which says, “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.”
In both of these Scriptures, the Bible says Jesus marveled at the responses of people. The first verse tells us He marveled at the faith of a Roman centurion who had come to Him to ask Him to heal his servant. The second verse tells us that He marveled at the unbelief of the people in His hometown. Two very different responses indeed. I have to say I am fascinated by the thought of Jesus marveling over a person’s faith or lack thereof. I also have to say that I would much prefer that He would be able to marvel over my faith and not marvel at my unbelief.
I confess these Scriptures have been on my mind for days as I have considered the difference in responses to Jesus that they represent. I am still amazed at the thought of Jesus marveling over someone’s faith in Him and it hurts my heart to think of Him marveling over an entire town’s unbelief. From the bottom of my heart, I desperately want to fall into the first category. If Jesus is going to marvel over anything, may it be my faith in Him. Can you imagine having a faith so strong that Jesus marveled over it? Neither can I, my friend.
In fact, I have an embarrassing confession to make. I recently had to apologize to God for my complete shock and amazement when He recently answered a big prayer of mine. I honestly felt ashamed for being so shocked when He did the very thing I had been asking Him to do. I guess you could say I have a way to go before Jesus would be marveling over my faith, but I want to get there. These verses have messed with me, my friend. They have made me stop and consider what kind of faith do I have? Am I working towards a faith that could make Jesus marvel or am I still holding to any unbelief?
Like the man who brought his son to Jesus to be healed, my cry is, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:24 NLT). In other words, I believe; help me to believe even more. Jesus, I believe, but I need You to help me overcome any areas of doubt or unbelief still lingering in my heart and mind. I want to have a faith that will cause Jesus to marvel. As I look at the passage in Luke 9, the words of the centurion in verse 7 leap off the page at me, “but just say the word”. This man had complete faith in Jesus’ word; he believed Jesus’ word would do what it set out to accomplish.
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” Isaiah 55:11. The centurion believed this; he believed that all it took was a word from Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus marveled at this man’s faith in His word. Do I have that much faith in His Word? How important is His Word to me? Do I take it as truth? Do I live as if it is truth to me? Am I allowing His Word to work in me? Am I obedient to His Word? Does He need only to “speak the word” for me to be healed?
My mind is going in a million different directions as I consider these questions and as I consider the implications of this Scripture passage. This man said that Jesus need only to speak the word and His word would bring about what needed to be done. He was telling Jesus, “Your Word is enough.” And this is what caused Jesus to marvel at his faith. I’m looking at this Bible of mine with highlights and marks in it and I have to ask myself, “Has this Bible highlighted things in my life? Has this Bible marked me? Am I telling Jesus by the way I live that His Word is enough for me?”
Because if I want to have a faith that will make Jesus marvel, I am going to have to let this Word change me; I am going to have to let it “accomplish what it set out to do” in my heart and life. If I want a faith that will cause Jesus to marvel, I too am going to have to say, “Just speak the word”, Jesus, and it will be enough for me. It will be enough to heal me, change me, and shake me out of any unbelief. If I truly have faith in His Word, then I need to study it, live it, and allow it to transform me. If I truly believe His Word, it should show up in the way I am living my life.
The alternative to great faith is to be so filled with unbelief that Jesus can’t do any “mighty work” in our lives. I. Do. Not. Want. That. Unbelief blocks the mighty work God wants to do in our hearts and lives. I don’t want lack of faith or lack of trust in Him and His Word to hinder the work He wants to do in me. I don’t want Him to marvel at my unbelief. God, please root out in any unbelief hidden in my heart. Teach me to truly “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), so that I can be pleasing to You. Give me the faith of the saints of old who lived their lives based on their faith in Your Word.
Oh, dear one, if Jesus is going to marvel over us, may it be over our absolute faith in Him and His Word. I pray that He will ignite a fire in the heart of every person reading these words and fill them with a greater hunger for Him and His Word. May we all long to know Him better and trust Him more. How can we know Him and trust Him more? We have got to get in His Word. You cannot have great faith in a God you do not know. You must get in His Word and get to know Him. “How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart” Psalm 119:2.
My friend, I challenge you to spend some time over the next few days reading through Psalm 119. It will remind you of the importance of His Word and how studying it affects us. I also encourage you to ask Him to give you the courage to pursue a faith in Him that will cause Him to marvel over you. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” 1 John 5:14. I assure you, this is just the kind of prayer He loves to answer. My friend, may you find that knowing Him will become the greatest desire of your heart.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3
Katrina Douglas
