Putting Faith into Action

I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t do any miracles in His hometown of Nazareth because of unbelief. Jesus had begun His public ministry, but back in Nazareth the people were saying, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” (Matthew 13:54–56 NLT). In other words, “We’ve known Jesus since He was a little dude. He used to work in his dad’s carpenter shop. So He’s the Messiah? Yeah, no. We don’t believe that.” The Bible tells us that no miracles happened there.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (NKJV).

The Bible tells the story of a woman with a medical condition who had spent all of her money on doctors, to no avail. She believed that if she could just touch Jesus’ garment, she would be healed. So when Jesus came walking down through town, she reached through the crowd and touched the hem of His garment. Jesus stopped, the crowd parted, and there she was.

Did Jesus want to rebuke this woman? No, He wanted to commend her. He said, “Your faith has made you well. Go in peace” (Luke 8:48 NKJV).

She put her faith into action, and we need to do the same. People say things like, “That would never happen for me” or “God would never do that.” He probably won’t. But then someone else might say, “I’m praying for that. I’m asking for that, Lord.” That is where faith comes in. It’s impossible to please God without faith.