Doing Great Works by Faith

This article was originally published in The Global Voice: Volume 13, Issue 5, May 2015. You can read the whole edition here.

Matthew 13:58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

It’s a short verse that says a lot.

Does unbelief prevent God from doing mighty works in our communities? What could be done in our communities if we believed? How do we show we believe so that God would do a mighty work?

When I started doing development work, I noticed a repetitive phrase among organizational planners. Anytime a major need arose that required a “mighty work,” the conversation would be resolved by the phrase, “If we could only get the money, then we would…”

The phrase made me wonder if God only gives the “go-ahead” based on whether or not funds are in the account. I know it seems to be common sense that “in this world you can’t do anything without having the money to do it,” but we’re not supposed to be common. God’s people are supposed to be holy — uncommon.

“And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” Not because of their lack of funding.

What’s my point?

I decided I would never let a lack of funding stop me from believing. Money is not the voice that prompts our activity, it’s the Lord who has that position in our lives.

All of the projects in this letter aren’t going to happen because the money is in the account. In fact, in this moment, it’s not. However, we see the needs for the community we live in, and we believe. We believe God can supply the funds to meet these needs. We even know that he can do so through some of you reading this newsletter, but we would recognize that He is the source, and He is the one at the helm of the mighty work.

So, for you “practical” people out there, we’re going to go as far as we can with all of these projects. We’ll be innovative, resourceful and use our skills to do as much as possible, with whatever limited funds we have, but — we will believe that God will help us to finish. Not having the money isn’t stopping us from doing it.

If you think this is idealism speaking, then you should come visit our campus, or any of our locations around the world, because any mighty work we’ve ever done, has been done in the same way — by faith.