By Deanna Bartalini
Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed instantly. ~ Matthew 15:28
In both today’s first reading from Jerimiah and the Gospel from Luke, we see what it means to have the gift of faith., With faith, we have persistence, a belief that we can accomplish the tasks before us, hope that we will be victorious, and know that God is with us.
But we often lack faith. We trust Jesus will help us and so we pray. And then we take back what we asked Jesus to handle because we are afraid. We allow fear to win over our faith. A friend of mine had a wooden sign in her house that said, “Faith and Fear cannot exist in the same house.”
What will we choose?
Faith leads us to turn our cares and concerns over to the One who loves us. Fear leads us to turn inward to fix our own problems or turn to the world to find quick and easy answers. Sadly, turning inward or to the world does not help. Fear feeds on itself and grows.
When we turn to faith, that also grows. It is our decision. When you are faced with the choice to have faith and trust or to be fearful, pause. Make a conscious decision to turn to Jesus. To faith. And if you want more faith, ask for it.
Easy to fall into fear
In my own life, I have to make conscious decisions to not allow worry to become fear which then overtakes me and sends me into a downward spiral of pain. In my family, worry is the default mode. I don’t want that to be my default; I want faith. I want Jesus.
Jesus notices the Canaanite woman’s faith and helps her daughter. I want that same faith! How about you?
Prayer
Lord, help me turn to you in faith, knowing that the more I do that, my faith grows. let my faith be stronger than any fear that enters my mind. Thank you for the gift of faith.
Call to Action
When worry threatens to over your mind, pause and turn to Jesus, relying on Him instead of yourself.
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