Reality vs. Faith (1) - Today's Lifeline Bulletin

Dear Beloved,

At some cross roads in life, prevailing circumstances may not have been fair to some of us; the severity of it in some cases propels us to speak or act contrary to our proclaimed and affirmed belief. For example, you sometimes might have said ‘I am the healed of the Lord …, diseases ain’t got any place here’, or ‘that Job/contract is mine’; but you thereafter discovered aches all over your body or eventually realized that your arch rival was favored in the award of the much expected contract.

In such situations, how do you react? “I usually …” – Did I just hear you mutter some words? Well, don’t be too quick to answer; so many people have similarly experienced one thing or the other, even the patriarchs had their share of contrary circumstances. Let’s take a look at your one time experience in the light of bible precedence.

Here is Martha’s encounter with Jesus in John 11:21-22: “Martha said to Jesus, If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for” (GNB).

One would have thought that Martha was as convinced about the situation as her statement suggested; she seemed to be of strong faith that Jesus had all it takes to transform the situation for good. But Martha’s statement later appeared to be a mere lip service without a heart conviction. In verse 24 of same chapter, Martha demonstrated her belief that her brother Lazarus will rise again at resurrection but not at that moment referred to by Jesus. Like some of us do when confronted with the reality of a circumstance, despite the fact that there is an element of possibility (though arduous) flashing somewhere, we attest to the miraculous just for the sake of it without expecting anything spectacular.

Furthermore, Jesus said to Martha, I am the resurrection and Life and those who believe in me though were dead, shall live again. ‘Do you believe this?’ she quickly said ‘I believe’, verses 25 & 26. But her next action in attempting to stop the opening of Lazarus’ tomb showed she may have just spoken without fully grasping the imlications of her proclaimed faith. For example, she tried to stop the opening of Lazarus tomb by stating the fact that he had been dead for four days and should be stinking by now. Such statement should have deterred Jesus from insisting that the tomb be opened, but He maintained his conviction.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar case, where reality stares you in the face? Have you ever tagged some things unachievable, because you have facts and figures at your disposal? Perhaps, it may be interesting to take a quick look at those who fought reality to a standstill with their faith. Though the mountains that came their way appeared insurmountable, they rose above the world-defined norms and achieved extraordinary results.

I challenge you to rise above reality and unleash your abilities in the kingdom you belong to; supernatural happenings are the norm here!

In the next few weeks, we will be examining Jesus’ supernatural approach in His encounter with Martha and Mary in John chapter 11. The three key things to be discussed are: