let faith rise.

In Matthew 8, there are two stories that circle around people’s level of faith and amazement, and I can’t stop thinking about them.

In the first story, a Roman officer asks Jesus to heal his servant. When Jesus says He will go and heal him, the officer states that he understands how authority works – that Jesus only needs to give the command and it will be done.

At this faith, Jesus was amazed.

In the second story, Jesus and His disciples were on a boat in the midst of a storm. Jesus was sleeping, and His disciples woke Him in a panic.

He commented on their little faith, and then He rebuked the wind and the waves.

At this, the disciples were amazed. Even the wind and the waves obey Him.

Part of me wants to think Jesus was being a little harsh when He called their faith little. Were they supposed to know Jesus could do that?

But then I remember the Roman officer, and I wonder if the disciples’ “little faith” was because they didn’t really understand His authority. They didn’t understand what it meant for Jesus to be Lord of all.

It’s not just that the word of God can make things happen and bring something out of nothing. Whatever is currently there – sickness, a storm, anxiety, you name it – must be obedient to His word.

Jesus speaks health, and that means sickness must obey.
Jesus is light, and that means darkness must flee.
Jesus gives peace, and that means anxiety must bow.

When He speaks, everything else must fall into line. Including the wind and the waves.

Sometimes I think my faith stays little because I forget that it doesn’t matter what’s in front of me. It doesn’t matter how permanent it looks. It still falls under the authority of Jesus.

Let your faith rise today. Because Jesus has authority over anything you see in front of you. Whatever it might look like, it can’t stand against the word of the Lord.

The power of God is in you, even on a Thursday.