One time when Jesus preached at his home church, the congregation “who heard him were astonished saying, ‘Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?’”1 They were impressed, to say the least. But then someone made the point that Jesus was Joseph and Mary’s boy, and they all knew his brothers James and Joses and Judas and Simon, as well as his sisters. And someone said, “Who does this guy think he is?” To which someone else responded, “Yeah. Where does he get off acting so uppity?” Well . . . those words were not actually recorded in the passage but what Mark did write was that “they took offense at him.”2
People were often offended by Jesus. After all, he claimed to be the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. The religious people found him to be heretical and the unreligious people found him to be fanatical. How did Jesus respond to the people in his home church? He “marveled at their unbelief.”3 It did not stop him from healing a few sick people, but it did affect his impact in the town, for “he could do no mighty work there.”4
Does this mean that our unbelief prevents God from doing mighty things? Yes! It does! How could that be? To demand that God prove that he is God before we decide to believe that he is God makes no sense! First of all, when we dictate what God must do, we are acting as if we are God! Secondly, the definition of faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”5 If we could see the proof for God, then we would not need faith. People often asked Jesus to prove who he was so they could believe. He never did. That’s not how faith works. Besides, he knew that whatever proof he gave would not be enough.
Today people still want proof God exists before they will consent to believe in him, but faith comes first. It is only after we have faith will we begin to understand and know God. But do we believers also prevent God from doing mighty things because of our doubt? Yes, I’m afraid we do! James says that a person who doubts “must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”6 That’s pretty strong language! How can we not have doubts? Is that even possible? Well, it’s important to figure out who/what we are doubting.
Most of the time we believers do not doubt God’s ability to give us whatever we need. And most of the time we do not doubt that God knows best. So, what is it we doubt? Mostly, we doubt that God’s way could possibly be better than our way and we continue to want what we want rather than what God wants. And with that, we become “double-minded.”7 Wishy-washy. Unstable—knowing God knows best but rather than wanting what God wants, we want God to want what we want. If we remain there, we will not receive what God wants because it is not what we want. If we dictate to God to give us what we want—acting like God—we will not receive anything from him. And, we will prevent God from doing any mighty works in us and for us and through us. How sad is that?
I wonder if we offend God sometimes.
1Mark 6:2 2Mark 6:3 3Mark 6:6 4Mark 6:5 5Hebrews 11:1 6James 1:7 7James 1:8
Is it possible that our relentless pursuit of proof for God’s existence actually hinders the manifestation of divine miracles, as our doubt creates a barrier between us and the divine realm? If so, how can we cultivate a stronger faith to facilitate a more profound connection with the divine?https://kodx.uk/
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