Episode 94: Even Now Faith
God’s purpose is to never leave us as we are, but to change us into who we can be as we encounter the real and living Savior - Jesus Christ! In a beautiful transformation story, we see a family (two sisters and a brother) radically change before our eyes. They start one way, and end another as they walk in a gutsy faith that challenges what they know, and what they think they know!
In Luke 10:38-42 we see two sisters, Martha and Mary, hosting a dinner party at their home. Like most families and groups hosting a party, you have the doers and those who sit and watch those that do! Martha was a doer, and she’d had enough as she watched her sister sitting on the floor with Jesus while she did all the work. She sharply told Jesus to make her sister help her, and surprisingly, Jesus turned his answer back to Martha rather than her sister. Scripture calls her distracted, and Jesus adds, “You’re worried and bothered by so many things!”
What does it mean to be distracted while serving Jesus? We may be so busy preparing things to serve Him, we’ve forgotten Him in the corner as we scurry around doing things while ignoring His presence. Jesus also calls her worried and bothered, which means she’s spending too much time rehearsing negative things and thinking about the “what-ifs” rather than the “what now!” Worry is negative fear and never brings good. It pushes out trust and ties God’s hands in working through our belief. Worry crushes faith. Jesus helps Martha by pointing out that in that moment, Mary made the right choice by sitting at His feet.
Later, in John 11:3-6 we see the sister’s brother Lazarus falling sick. The sisters send a messenger to Jesus, but instead of coming right away, He stays where He is for a few more days and their brother dies! We know that God has timing and ways that are beyond our timing and ways. He knows what we don’t know and understands what we don’t understand.
In John 11:17-22 Jesus finally comes to where they are mourning, and Martha runs out to see Him while Mary stays in the house. Martha encounters Jesus in a life-changing way when she says, “…even now, even after losing my brother, I believe you can do a miracle.”
Sometimes we need “EVEN NOW” faith in the midst of what we are experiencing. God never promises easy paths, but He is a rewarder of faith.
As their dead brother Lazarus is called from the grave and unbound from his graveclothes, we see not only the transformation of a family, but an entire community. Anything is possible when we have EVEN NOW faith!
GUTSY FAITH RESOURCES:
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