faith in what we don’t see | At Water’s Edge

Just A Touch

Every state has a nickname that explains something about that state. What nickname does your state have? I grew up in the “Garden State” where beefsteak tomatoes and sweet corn are grown. I went to school in the “Keystone State” of Pennsylvania, named for its position in the 13 original colonies. But I admire the boldness of Missouri, the “Show Me” state. These folks simply demand proof, and they aren’t shy about it.

Our passage today follows a series of miracles. After the beheading of John the Baptizer, Jesus and his disciples traveled away from danger and ended up in Gennesaret. Jesus knew his time hadn’t come yet and he still had a lot of work to do. He fed the 5,000, healed people, walked on water, and taught Peter a lesson about the importance of keeping your eyes on your Savior at all times.

Matthew 14:34-36 (Common English Bible)

³⁴When they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret.³⁵When the people who lived in that place recognized him, they sent word throughout that whole region, and they brought to him everyone who was sick. ³⁶Then they begged him that they might just touch the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched him was cured.

The people of Gennesaret had heard of Jesus’ healing power and flocked to see him. Our passage today tells us that it only took a slight touching of his hem to receive it. This tells us two things.

First, Jesus was accessible to the crowd in a way that the Pharisees and Essenes would never have been. They never mingled in crowds because one never knew what kind of ceremonial uncleanness one might brush up against in a group. Second, it tells us that Jesus’ healing power was so profound, all the people had to do was touch his robe to receive it.

This demonstration of faith is in contrast to Peter’s lack of it. And all the people were healed because of their faith, which had emboldened them to push forward and touch Jesus’ robe. Peter might have been comfortable in Missouri, but Jesus looked for followers whose faith didn’t need to be proved.

Yet we remember the faith of Thomas, who demanded proof of the resurrection. In John 20, Jesus answered his questioning with a deeply personal response: Go ahead and touch my wounds, he said. Your questioning won’t scare me away.

Faith isn’t a spectrum, but a seed. It is watered and sun-blessed every time we pray, read Scripture, hear the Word, serve, and worship.

What kind of faith are you growing? It is bold enough to shove your way to the front for a brief pass at the Savior? Is it young enough to still have doubts? Is it sure enough that you know you will find your answer in the presence of Jesus?

Sometimes healing comes in the form of a cure or remission. Sometimes healing comes through death as we enter into perfect eternal life with our Lord. But in every case, faith is the sure foundation upon which we seek God. How sure is your foundation? What do you need to do to strengthen it?

Sun-Blessed by Michelle Robertson

Wanting Tomorrow

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Betsy

A friend who is undergoing cancer treatment is finally having a good week. He feels good, he can walk without a cane, and he actually drove a car for the first time in three months. So he went out and bought green bananas.

I love that last part. It is a glorious sign of recovery. It is a act of hope. It’s what people do when they realize they will indeed live to see another day.

I wonder how many of us are leading our lives as though tomorrow won’t come. There are times when life can beat us down so hard we don’t have the energy, resolve, or desire to even lift our head off the pillow. Sometimes this feeling is situational, and eventually gets easier. Sometimes darker things are at play and we need help.

I’m sure we can recall a very hard break up with someone we thought we would be ours forever. Relationships ending can leave us feeling tremendously defeated. If you’ve ever been fired, you might recall a moment of sitting in the car with your hands on the wheel, unable to imagine a tomorrow. At the moment when the doctor came out of the operating room and told us that our daughter had cancer when she was a college junior, I could not see her tomorrows for a moment. Not seeing hers made me not see mine. Losing your parents, a spouse, or God forbid, a child, can leave you not even wanting tomorrows.

Hebrews 11 The Message (MSG)

Faith in What We Don’t See

11 1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

When tomorrows seem hazy and unattainable, it is good to remember what this verse is telling us. We have the firm foundation of a trustworthy God, which gives us a handle on what we can’t see. We can fix our feet firmly in a world called into existence by God. How amazing is it to know that God creates what we see, and what we don’t see. He is the creator of all of the tomorrows yet to come. We don’t need to see it…God does, and that is enough.

The ancestors of our faith were content to allow their tomorrows unfold according to God’s design and will for their lives. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah…they all bought green bananas.

32-36 There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead.

There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection.

Our ultimate tomorrow is found in the resurrection. There is something better. There is hope. There is a reason to get up, get moving, and get on with it. In truth, tomorrow never comes, for each tomorrow turns into today, and each day brings new mercies.

Faith is the reality of what we hope for and the proof of what we don’t see. So let us walk by faith and not by sight, and go forth to buy green bananas.

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