When Someone You Love Has No Faith

My friend Marilyn Nutter edits an annual devotional book called Penned from the Heart*. She recently sent out a call for submissions for the 2015 edition. 

As you know, devotions are my specialty, so her request should have been easy to answer. Except for one thing.

The maximum word count for each devotion is 225 words.

I can't even order dinner in 225 words.

The Guttenberg Bible contains 4 volumes

.

But writing to fit a word count is a valuable discipline for a writer, so I accepted the challenge. The devotion below is the result. I pray it blesses you. Thanks, Marilyn, for stretching (or compressing) me.

If you'd like to read the full story, (thankfully Bible writers didn't have a maximum word count), Luke 5 contains all the wonderful details.



When Someone You Love Has No Faith

Verses like these make sense to me: 

“Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you,’” (Mat. 9:22). 

“’Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight,” (Mark 10:52). 

“He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace,’” (Mark 5:34). 

People believe, and God rewards their faith by healing them. 

But what if someone we care about has no faith? Is there any hope for them? 

Will God heal a person crippled by addictions? Will he heal a marriage damaged beyond repair? Will he heal a rebellious heart bent on self-destruction? 

I find hope in the story of the paralytic in Luke 5. 

“When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’" (v. 19). 

When he saw their faith. Not the faith of the man on the mat, the faith of the believers who carried their friend to the feet of Jesus. God honored their love, sacrificial service, and commitment and used their faith to accomplish a miracle. 

Are you praying for someone with no faith? 

Don’t stop. 

In his mercy, God may use your faith to bring them to Jesus. 



*If you'd like to submit a 225 word devotion for consideration in Penned from the Heart, CLICK HERE for submission guidelines. 

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