>Faith in a Limitless God

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Heather Paige Hunt

>Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Sometimes, I forget just how limitless Jesus is. He has calmed storms, healed lepers, turned water into wine, turned darkness into light, and made a sinner like me holy. He says that whatever I ask for in His name, He will give me. He says that, by His name, I can plant a mulberry tree in the sea. Why do I shortchange his power despite all evidence?
In Mark 9, a Philippian man brings his son, who is possessed by a demon, to Jesus. He says to Jesus, “If you can do anything, help us.” Jesus responds “If I can? Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the man exclaims, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” In response to that request, Jesus heals his son.
The people of Nazareth lacked faith too, but, unlike the father in Philippi, they did not ask for more of it. In Matthew 13, “Jesus said to them, ‘Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.’ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”
I feel like Jesus’ “hometown” is now in my heart. If I lack faith in His power, He will not do many miracles there. But if I ask for more faith, then I see many miracles. Ephesians 2:8 says that our faith is not from ourselves. It is a gift from God. Like the man at Philippi in Mark 9 and like the disciples in Luke 17, we should ask Jesus to give us the gift of faith.