I’ve been reading through the New Testament and I’m at the part where Jesus begins his ministry. People come from all over to hear him and be healed by him. And one of the parts that strikes me is “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them” (Mark 6:5), because of unbelief. When the boy’s demon couldn’t be cast out, the father says, “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
When he heals people, Jesus is focused on their faith. Why is the woman who touches his cloak healed? Because she has belief. Why are the crowds healed? Because they believe in him.
For God, it’s almost like the belief in his healing matters more than the healing. The faith matters more than the fact. And if I think to myself, logically, if I was in the place of the Israelites, would I travel for days just for the chance, in a crowd, to touch the edge of Jesus’s cloak? Would I leave my comfort zone–my familiar routine–all because I believe Jesus can heal me?
Sometimes I wonder if we settle into our patterns and stop believing that God will really do anything out of the ordinary. We define God in the context of our comfort zone. We don’t seek him outside of what we think he can do. Is this how you feel sometimes?
Belief is greater than healing. Do you believe?
Until next time,
thoughts of a wanderer 