Daily Devotions – Odd Actions of Faith

Daily Devotions – Odd Actions of Faith

Photo by Corey Agopian on Unsplash

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

 

Matthew 9:18-19, 23-25 (NIV)

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.

 

It is safe to assume that when this desperate father left his dead child to go find Jesus, people thought he was ridiculous. The evidence comes when Jesus arrives and the crowds laugh at the declaration that the girl is not dead. Faith leads us to do odd things like going to church every Sunday instead of sleeping in, reading an ancient book every day, or serving people who are sick, suffering, and poor. Or how about praying for the help of Jesus in the lives of people that seem beyond the point of no return. Maybe you have a child who has destroyed their life with drugs or alcohol or a friend that is terminally ill. Does the situation seem hopeless? Faith in Jesus does not mean we will get what we want. Faith is believing in the power of Jesus to do something that we cannot yet see while everyone else around us believes that God cannot, will not, or does not have the power to give real, transformative, and eternal life.