Day 8: Nothing is Impossible
Reading for Today
Matthew 17:14-20 (NLT)
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the final quarter and we needed a first down to secure the game. The opposing team had the momentum and was threatening to take the win. I felt the pressure of the moment, but I will never forget the words I said to our quarterback, “Throw me the ball.” I remember this moment because I can still see the shock on the faces of my teammates. The normally mild-mannered guy was all of a sudden confident and demanding. Thankfully, I rewarded their confidence in me by beating my defender and sealing the game.
I love to remember that moment. It means a lot to me because it was proof that I had grown. It was proof that I had made the right adjustments from my past failures. It was proof of a lesson learned.
“Our greatest victories are often birthed from our greatest failures.”
In Matthew 14, the disciples face what some would consider an epic failure. They have been hand-picked and trained by Jesus Christ. They have watch Jesus perform miracles and they have insight into His purpose and power. Finally, they have an opportunity to serve and show what they have learned, and they fall short. When someone in need comes to them, they lack the faith to make a difference.
This has always been one of my greatest fears. What happens when opportunity shows up and we are unable to step up to the moment? What if someone I love needs prayer and I have no idea how to pray? What if God wants me to heal someone who is sick and I’m afraid. What if God tells me what to say to encourage someone and I’m too nervous to speak up? This was the situation the disciples found themselves in.
Thankfully, Jesus has a solution for those of us who face periodic struggles with stepping into the moment.
The path to greatness lies not only in believing in yourself, but in believing in Jesus.
We’ve made it to week 2, now set your focus on putting your faith in Jesus. Fasting is meant to lessen our dependence on the flesh and the seen world so that we can see the true power of the unseen. Walk by faith, not by sight as you discover that nothing is impossible with God.
Fasting Tip: Develop a list of people you are praying for and pray about how God might want to use you to serve them in the future.