The tricky thing with faith is that it’s risky. When you believe for things – for a breakthrough in a certain area of your life perhaps – the cold, hard fact is that you may not get what you seek.
Here lies the risk.
You might be disappointed. You might feel let down. You might get hurt.
Think about the woman who had the issue of blood (see Luke 8:43-48). For 12 years, this woman suffered from constant bleeding and could not find a cure. She’d had enough. After 12 years of bleeding and seeing doctor after doctor, spending all her money on trying to get well, she wanted to see results.
This woman was a woman of risky faith. She heard that Jesus was passing by, so she pushed her way through crowds of people, reached out, and touched the hem of Jesus’ robe. Immediately, she was healed. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. It was a miracle. Breakthrough.
Imagine if this woman hadn’t had the faith to believe Jesus could heal her. Imagine if the disappointment and the delay she had experienced over the 12 years of infirmity had beaten her down so much that she stopped trying. Stopped believing.
But, faith urged her on.
The Bible explains it this way: ‘Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.’ It even says in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that at the end of it all, only three things will remain: faith, hope, and love.
What is your faith risking?
The Bible says Jesus was amazed by the faith of a Roman centurion who told Him, ‘You don’t even have to come to my house; I know you can heal my servant from here just with a word!’ The centurion risked his position because he recognized a higher authority.
Do you believe that God has the power to change your circumstances? Do you believe that He is for you?
My prayer is that we will all have the faith of the woman with the issue of blood or the Roman centurion. That when we feel disappointed, let down, or tired of the delay, we will reach out one more time and believe.