Have you ever longed for a big giant leap in your faith? You see God moving on behalf of others but wonder sometimes why He hasn’t yet moved for you? I know in Christian circles there are all sorts of arguments why we don’t experience the same level of miracles here in the United States as they do in other God-starved nations, or perhaps at other times throughout the Church age. Many of those arguments are legitimate and personal, so I don’t want to bunk anyone’s particular belief about why miracles come sometimes to some people and other times not.
But… for the sake of hope, I would like to introduce a few interesting things to think about so that the next time you are in a conversation with the Holy Spirit, you can ask Him if this particular reason might apply to you (or not). That is between you and Him alone, and I trust that He will reveal to you the answer you need to hear.
Recently I began reading through the book of Hebrews. Anyone who has read through this book before or has ever heard sermons preached from it can easily guess that a major theme running through it is FAITH. With this in mind, I found Hebrews 4:2 quite interesting:
“For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened”
Hebrews 4:2
The use of the phrase “united by faith” caught my attention. I looked it up using the Bible Hub app so that I could compare the original Greek to the translation I was reading. The word “united” indicated a joining or mixing. Okay, so they heard the word but it did not profit them because the word they heard was not joined by faith. Wait… who are “they”? I had to remind myself by quickly reviewing chapter 3 again since it had been a day or so and I have brain fog 🤣 “They”, we discover in chapter three, are “those who came out of Egypt”. So the Hebrew children lead by Moses, long before the Messiah entered the world, THEY had to have faith in the same way that we have to have faith. Hmm!
THEY heard the word but did not appropriate the accompanying faith that went with it. We know this from Romans 10:17:
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ
Romans 10:17
This indicates that taking up faith is somewhat of a choice, doesn’t it? Is it safe to say then that unbelief prevents us from appropriating (or taking) the faith that comes by hearing the word of God? I ask because we know that unbelief is a choice. Our choice. We can choose NOT to believe if we want to. It is a fair assumption then that unbelief is a possible reason we do not receive all that God has for us. What’s worse is, in just a couple of verses later we see that because unbelief is a choice, not to believe then becomes an act of disobedience. Ouch!!
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience
Hebrews 4:6
But there is hope…
“And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can! All things are possible for one who believes’. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Mark 9:23-24
Our hearts cry out with that father because in our Christian walk all of us have dealt with unbelief at some time or another! Especially today, in our culture and society, where the secular world view is pulsated over the airwaves every moment of every day throughout every major sphere of society: media, schools and universities, work environments, politics, the medical industry, arts and entertainment, and sadly even in our churches and very often within our own families. We cannot escape being touched by it in some form or another. So it becomes a legitimate cry and question if we can move beyond the sometimes years of conditioning not to trust, not to believe, not to see with eyes of faith, into a realm where the scales of doubt are removed? I am here to testify YES! Yes we can!
“again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Hebrews 4:7
Alabastersky 
I read this about the world’s attempts to foster unbelief in us and I can’t help seeing an archery target with an arrow smack in the center. I have been recently meditating on the beginning three verses of Romans 12, which includes a reference to God dealing out faith to all believers. I am pretty sure that unbelief is the primary obstacle to seeing more miraculous things. That being said, as believers, we ought to be transformed to the point we seldom need a miracle to bail us out.
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Agreed, it is a primary obstacle for sure! The only thing outside of this I can think of that may keep us from obtaining all He has for us is timing (in the fullness of time).
It’s interesting that you mentioned Romans chapter 12. It reminded me of a book I read last year titled The Prophetic Warrior by Emma Stark. In the book she explains that we see in Romans 12:6 that we prophesy according to what we think about God, noting “Your prophetic declarations will only ever be as potent as your faith levels… if I don’t have faith to believe Jesus heals, I will never expected in anyone’s life. If I don’t believe God can change and nation, I will never speak it. God is waiting for us to action what He has already told us to do.”
Emma goes on to write that there are three kinds of faith: 1) there is a saving faith 2) there is a measure of faith. This is what you referenced in Romans 12:3, faith that grows in God through repetitive life experiences (our history tells us God is faithful), and 3) there is the gift of faith. Faith is listed as a gift in First Corinthians 12:9
The gift of faith, she says, is not faith in God, but the faith of God, noting “this is a major shift in how we think about faith. When I strive to grow faith by myself, it can put the burden on me to come to a place of strength. It involves my faith, my ability to believe in God, my will, and my choice. Having the faith gift of God is very different. This kind of faith comes as a gift that God gives. He supplies this kind of faith by His Spirit. It goes beyond our faith that we have in Him; it is God’s faith given to us. You cannot work up this kind of faith. Instead, we pray God, give me your faith.”
Pretty cool stuff 😎😁
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The coolest! I might have to check out Ms. Stark’s book. She sound like she is right in line with the Word.
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Indeed, she has a lot to say, although she’s a little on the wild side 😳🤪 but I love that 😂. I’ll put the link here for you in case you want to check it out. Another super impactful book I just finished recently was “The Fire of God’s Love” by Bob Sorge. WHOA!!
Be blessed my friend!
https://www.amazon.com/Prophetic-Warrior-Operating-Your-Authority/dp/B08G7Y356F/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1UEJM8ZKJT8V9&keywords=prophetic+warrior+emma+stark&qid=1674321732&sprefix=prophet%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-1
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