The Work of Faith
Focus Scripture
“Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”" — John 6:26-29 NKJV
Introduction
Years ago, during my time working for the State of Florida, I participated in a process improvement workgroup. While guiding us through the process, our facilitator shared a quote she previously heard that served as a helpful guide to our work. It says, “Make sure you’re doing the right work, then do that work right.” This was a statement of focus. It was meant to steer us from the never-ending paths that our emotions could easily drag us down, while also opening our minds to see what mattered most. It’s very easy to run to the problem that seems to be the most obvious, most urgent, or most challenging and ultimately miss what’s most impactful. Therefore, it was necessary that we, first, discover the right work and then do that work effectively. The failure to do so could result in the working of many works while ultimately missing the right work.
I believe this same approach is essential to the Kingdom of God. Every follower of Jesus should clearly know and do what matters most to the King. This means, in order to be effective citizens and representatives of the Kingdom, we must first discover the right work and then do that work right. The good news is that Jesus made this very clear in scripture. The right work is found in John 6:29 where He tells those who sought after Him, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Very plainly, Jesus reveals the right work. The right work is the work of Faith—the work of believing in Jesus.
This week we will explore the work of faith. Through prayer, we will pivot our hearts to cleave to the work of the King.
I believe this same approach is essential to the Kingdom of God. Every follower of Jesus should clearly know and do what matters most to the King. This means, in order to be effective citizens and representatives of the Kingdom, we must first discover the right work and then do that work right. The good news is that Jesus made this very clear in scripture. The right work is found in John 6:29 where He tells those who sought after Him, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Very plainly, Jesus reveals the right work. The right work is the work of Faith—the work of believing in Jesus.
This week we will explore the work of faith. Through prayer, we will pivot our hearts to cleave to the work of the King.
This Week's Devotionals
Day 1: The Only Work
After Jesus miraculously fed at least five thousand people with two fish and five loaves of bread, there were people from the crowd that were looking for Him the next day. They relentlessly searched for Jesus until they found Him. After being filled with natural bread, they longed for something more. This reminds me so much of you and I. After having an encounter with God, whether subtle or strong, we find ourselves desiring more. This causes us to search curiously and even desperately for the One who left an indelible mark on our lives. When they found Jesus, they asked about the time of His arrival to that place. However, Jesus immediately addressed to the purpose behind their pursuit.
In His initial response, Jesus instructs them to not spend their efforts on “food which perishes.” He’s referring to natural food that satisfies the flesh. Instead, they should invest their efforts in the “food which endures to everlasting life.” Naturally, they want to know what to do next, so they ask, What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus replied with a notable distinction from what they asked, He said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” They asked of the works of God (plural) and Jesus declared the work of God (singular). He made it clear that instead of works, there was one work and that’s believing in Him (Jesus). If you’ve had any experience with humans, then you know that we tend to overcomplicate things. We overanalyze what’s plainly stated and add extra steps even though they’re not needed. This tendency also existed in the Jews and Jesus was there to shift their perspective. Culturally and historically, there were many laws and traditions that theses Jews observed, but none of them had the power to sustain man eternally (Romans 8:3). By declaring the work of belief, Jesus replaced the idea of works for salvation with the gift of grace through faith—believing in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Unfortunately, for those who valued the system more than the savior, this proved to be a difficult concept to accept. The same is true for people today. We have grown so accustomed to the complexities of life that we’ve developed a sense of pride when we’ve mastered them. This has developed an idea of works that’s so deeply embedded in our culture that we cannot fathom the validity of simplicity. Jesus says the only work is to believe Him. Such words incite disruption in a world that prides itself in the steps to success and basks in the afterglow of approval. When it comes to a relationship with God, we misguidedly pursue Him with the same approach. We immerse ourselves with works—impressing others with scriptural knowledge, flaunting an elegant wardrobe, and attending at every gathering, all while keeping our imperfections hidden. The problem is that God has no desire for those works. There’s only one work that matters to Him is that we believe.
My hope is by the end of this week of devotional (and I hope it begins today) that you would be relieved of the pressure you’ve put on yourself. I like to call it the pressure to perform. Perhaps that’s where you are today. I was there, trying to do every work I could because I thought there was value in the works. Yet, I was omitting and overlooking the most valuable work—the work of faith. The work of believing His promises and not in my performance.
Today it’s time to go to work. Say it aloud, tell yourself “_______, it’s time to go to work!” It’s time to go to work, and that’s the work of believing. Not fixing your spouse. It’s believing. Not securing the bag. Believing. Not convincing other people that you believe. But that you do the work of believing. It’s We are abandoning the fruitless works of the flesh and throwing ourselves into the work of faith. This is how we transform a form of godliness into authentic belief. Go to work. The only work. The work of faith.
In His initial response, Jesus instructs them to not spend their efforts on “food which perishes.” He’s referring to natural food that satisfies the flesh. Instead, they should invest their efforts in the “food which endures to everlasting life.” Naturally, they want to know what to do next, so they ask, What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus replied with a notable distinction from what they asked, He said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” They asked of the works of God (plural) and Jesus declared the work of God (singular). He made it clear that instead of works, there was one work and that’s believing in Him (Jesus). If you’ve had any experience with humans, then you know that we tend to overcomplicate things. We overanalyze what’s plainly stated and add extra steps even though they’re not needed. This tendency also existed in the Jews and Jesus was there to shift their perspective. Culturally and historically, there were many laws and traditions that theses Jews observed, but none of them had the power to sustain man eternally (Romans 8:3). By declaring the work of belief, Jesus replaced the idea of works for salvation with the gift of grace through faith—believing in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Unfortunately, for those who valued the system more than the savior, this proved to be a difficult concept to accept. The same is true for people today. We have grown so accustomed to the complexities of life that we’ve developed a sense of pride when we’ve mastered them. This has developed an idea of works that’s so deeply embedded in our culture that we cannot fathom the validity of simplicity. Jesus says the only work is to believe Him. Such words incite disruption in a world that prides itself in the steps to success and basks in the afterglow of approval. When it comes to a relationship with God, we misguidedly pursue Him with the same approach. We immerse ourselves with works—impressing others with scriptural knowledge, flaunting an elegant wardrobe, and attending at every gathering, all while keeping our imperfections hidden. The problem is that God has no desire for those works. There’s only one work that matters to Him is that we believe.
My hope is by the end of this week of devotional (and I hope it begins today) that you would be relieved of the pressure you’ve put on yourself. I like to call it the pressure to perform. Perhaps that’s where you are today. I was there, trying to do every work I could because I thought there was value in the works. Yet, I was omitting and overlooking the most valuable work—the work of faith. The work of believing His promises and not in my performance.
Today it’s time to go to work. Say it aloud, tell yourself “_______, it’s time to go to work!” It’s time to go to work, and that’s the work of believing. Not fixing your spouse. It’s believing. Not securing the bag. Believing. Not convincing other people that you believe. But that you do the work of believing. It’s We are abandoning the fruitless works of the flesh and throwing ourselves into the work of faith. This is how we transform a form of godliness into authentic belief. Go to work. The only work. The work of faith.
Day 2: How Deep is Your Belief?
Day 3: The Veil of Unbelief
Two days ago, I learned that a friend of our family passed away. Her name is Ruby Lynn Mitchell. She was a member of St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Plant City, FL, where I spent my first years as a little boy. Recently, she became a faithful participant in our morning prayer. During the minutes that lead up to our start time, you may have heard me greet her as Sis. Lynn. She lost her battle with cancer, but she won the fight of faith.
If you watched yesterday’s podcast, you may have noticed that I struggled a bit through the devotional and prayer. The truth is, as soon as I began to speak, Sis. Lynn came into my mind. I was startled and conflicted because I didn’t feel prepared to speak about her passing. Nevertheless, I continued and posed the question, “How deep is your belief?” But as I spoke those words, I felt that my own faith was being placed on trial. It’s as if the check engine light of my faith came on and something was rattling within me. The Spirit of God was beckoning me to check my faith. When I learned of her passing, I began to pray for her family. But I didn’t stop long enough to examine how her passing affected me. How it affected my heart. Instead of pausing, I kept moving. I had a list of things that needed to be done for the ministry and to prepare for Lady Chanell’s birthday. My mindset was, I have work—or works to do and I can deal with my feelings later. What I didn’t consider is that Sis. Lynn wasn’t the only person behind the veil. In the last year, we’ve experienced significant loss. I’ve lost a high school friend, an aunt, a mother of our church, an elder that previously served at our church, two members from our former church, among the reminder of those who passed in years past. I had not acknowledged how these losses weighed on my soul.
For many pastors this is what life looks like. We don’t have the freedom to drop everything and get in our feelings. Most times, we have to keep going. But it’s not limited to us, the same applies to medical professionals and even others. The members or patients whom you serve and form relationships with will eventually leave this life and change the address of their soul. Yet, because you have an obligation to serve, your feelings must take the back burner until you can break away to address your own needs. Until that time comes, we’re forced to wear a mental veil over our emotions to block out what’s broken in our souls.
A veil is a concealing curtain. To conceal a thing is to hide it. Therefore, a veil is a curtain used to hide or hinder the visibility of a thing. I believe it’s necessary to temporarily veil areas of our minds because if we allowed our emotions to overtake our thoughts and actions, the results can prove to be damaging. However, it’s important to know that while a veil hides things from visibility, it does not cause things to disappear. Whatever is behind the veil is still there. Yet, it seems much easier to walk past the veil, ignoring what’s behind it and act as though nothing has happened. In our minds, it’s not there if I don’t acknowledge it so we look past it.
I’m sharing a vulnerable area of my life with you because I believe many of us have experienced a great deal of loss, hardships, and failures over the last year, two years, and for some it reaches even further. There are so many things that we’ve put behind the veil and have continued to deal with life but we didn’t take a moment to go back and process what we went through. Today, I want to talk about the veil of unbelief. It’s important to know that unbelief is not the absence of belief. Instead, unbelief is a belief that’s been weakened.
Throughout his ministry, we watch as Jesus encounters people with all levels of faith (belief). Strong faith, weak faith, bright faith, dim faith, stubborn faith, lazy faith, battered faith, unsure faith, and even non-existent faith. Yet, Jesus patiently embraced each person to show us that He’s willing to assist us in our belief no matter the level or condition it’s currently in.
In the Gospel of Mark 9:14-27, we find Jesus talking to a desperate Father who’s son has been possessed by an impure spirit for years. The spirit caused the boy to experience violent seizures and has even thrown him into fire and water to destroy him. The father exclaimed “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Some may consider his words as a direct shot at Jesus’ limitless ability. I don’t think they were at all. I believe these were the words of a father whose faith had been broken.
There’s no record of this father and son’s journey up to this point, I want you to imagine that before this moment, he’s gone to every physician and specialist. Even tried experimental treatments in effort to help his son but nothing has helped. In the aftermath of a violent seizure, he’s there in the dark, holding his son. His heart is worn, mangled, and shell-shocked by every hostile encounter. For a moment he weeps. The weight of failure, anxiety, helplessness, and the strain on his finances begin to crush his heart. In between sobs, he releases short fragments of a prayer. All he can muster the energy to say is “Help—me.” As his son regains consciousness, the father wipes his face, puts back on his veil and assures his son that everything will be ok. Even though things have not improved, there’s a part of him that still believes that God will make it better.
The next day he learns that Jesus’ disciples are healing people just like Jesus himself. Hope immediately fills his heart. He and his son journey to the city where Jesus’ disciples are they finds one! He explains his son’s condition and the disciple prayed but the spirit remained. Other disciples came and prayed but no one could help. The father becomes frantic because he sees the lame walking, the deaf hearing and the lepers cleansed but no one can help his son?! That’s when Jesus overhears the commotion and steps in. Now, let’s pick up where we left off:
The father says “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus tells the desperate father “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes”. This response reminds us of Jesus’ instruction to the Jews who desired true bread of heaven in John 6. Jesus told them that the only work of God was believing His Son. Now to this father, who’s been discouraged by a record of failures, Jesus reveals that the key to his son’s healing lies within his ability to believe. The urgently replies, “Lord I believe; help my unbelief!”
For many of us we stop with the (a) clause of what the father said, we say “Lord, I believe!” I spend a great deal of time praying for people. Many who’s bodies are being ravaged by cancer, many who are dealing and fighting with COVID, many who are battling depression, many marriages that are being challenged, among so many others who are going through in this season. While praying for them, I would always declare something like, “God, I believe you to be a healer! God, I believe you to be a reconciler! God, I believe that you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all I could ask or think! God, I believe!” These are things we often say to charge our faith and build our zeal! Each of these statements are true and are worth praising God for. But it seems to me that when Jesus looked at him with eyes full of compassion and understanding, the father knew that he’d been made. Jesus could see through the façade. He saw past what was presented and fixated on what was behind the veil that concealed his unbelief. And the father said “You know what...? Let me remove this. And let me be honest. Lord, I believe, but help me with my unbelief.” This is not a statement of contradiction. It’s a statement of condition. This father was clearly a believer, but his faith has undergone a great deal of suffering. The Greek word used for unbelief is apistia which means weakness of faith. Therefore, unbelief is not the absence of belief. Unbelief is a belief that’s been weakened, battered, and even broken. Think of it—the feeling of experiencing failure after failure, hitting wall after wall, facing rejection after rejection. That does something to you!
Maybe you’re reading this and realize that you’ve experienced a lot. Yet, you’ve been going and going and going, acting like everything is ok but God is saying in a calm compassionate voice, “Hold up… Let’s take a moment. Let’s pull back the veil. And let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about the thing you’ve been ignoring. Let’s talk about the thing that you’ve overlooked.” God sees the real you. Not the version with the veil but the version that lives beneath your skin. It’s time to remove the veil of unbelief and invite God into your heart.
I encourage you to slow down. Depending on how long it’s been since you’ve looked behind the veil, there may be years of events that have happened. Don’t do this carelessly. Intentionally take the time and say “God, we need to talk about this. I have some concerns. My faith has been abused and battered. It’s taken some shots and I need some help.” The good news is that He’s faithful to help. Remember the desperate father? His son was delivered and healed.” The same is possible for you, but it begins when you remove the veil. Consider employing a therapist as they can be very helpful with unpacking and navigating such thoughts. I admit, this is a challenging work, but it’s the necessary work of faith. Not only should your faith be deep, but it also must be healthy.
If you watched yesterday’s podcast, you may have noticed that I struggled a bit through the devotional and prayer. The truth is, as soon as I began to speak, Sis. Lynn came into my mind. I was startled and conflicted because I didn’t feel prepared to speak about her passing. Nevertheless, I continued and posed the question, “How deep is your belief?” But as I spoke those words, I felt that my own faith was being placed on trial. It’s as if the check engine light of my faith came on and something was rattling within me. The Spirit of God was beckoning me to check my faith. When I learned of her passing, I began to pray for her family. But I didn’t stop long enough to examine how her passing affected me. How it affected my heart. Instead of pausing, I kept moving. I had a list of things that needed to be done for the ministry and to prepare for Lady Chanell’s birthday. My mindset was, I have work—or works to do and I can deal with my feelings later. What I didn’t consider is that Sis. Lynn wasn’t the only person behind the veil. In the last year, we’ve experienced significant loss. I’ve lost a high school friend, an aunt, a mother of our church, an elder that previously served at our church, two members from our former church, among the reminder of those who passed in years past. I had not acknowledged how these losses weighed on my soul.
For many pastors this is what life looks like. We don’t have the freedom to drop everything and get in our feelings. Most times, we have to keep going. But it’s not limited to us, the same applies to medical professionals and even others. The members or patients whom you serve and form relationships with will eventually leave this life and change the address of their soul. Yet, because you have an obligation to serve, your feelings must take the back burner until you can break away to address your own needs. Until that time comes, we’re forced to wear a mental veil over our emotions to block out what’s broken in our souls.
A veil is a concealing curtain. To conceal a thing is to hide it. Therefore, a veil is a curtain used to hide or hinder the visibility of a thing. I believe it’s necessary to temporarily veil areas of our minds because if we allowed our emotions to overtake our thoughts and actions, the results can prove to be damaging. However, it’s important to know that while a veil hides things from visibility, it does not cause things to disappear. Whatever is behind the veil is still there. Yet, it seems much easier to walk past the veil, ignoring what’s behind it and act as though nothing has happened. In our minds, it’s not there if I don’t acknowledge it so we look past it.
I’m sharing a vulnerable area of my life with you because I believe many of us have experienced a great deal of loss, hardships, and failures over the last year, two years, and for some it reaches even further. There are so many things that we’ve put behind the veil and have continued to deal with life but we didn’t take a moment to go back and process what we went through. Today, I want to talk about the veil of unbelief. It’s important to know that unbelief is not the absence of belief. Instead, unbelief is a belief that’s been weakened.
Throughout his ministry, we watch as Jesus encounters people with all levels of faith (belief). Strong faith, weak faith, bright faith, dim faith, stubborn faith, lazy faith, battered faith, unsure faith, and even non-existent faith. Yet, Jesus patiently embraced each person to show us that He’s willing to assist us in our belief no matter the level or condition it’s currently in.
In the Gospel of Mark 9:14-27, we find Jesus talking to a desperate Father who’s son has been possessed by an impure spirit for years. The spirit caused the boy to experience violent seizures and has even thrown him into fire and water to destroy him. The father exclaimed “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Some may consider his words as a direct shot at Jesus’ limitless ability. I don’t think they were at all. I believe these were the words of a father whose faith had been broken.
There’s no record of this father and son’s journey up to this point, I want you to imagine that before this moment, he’s gone to every physician and specialist. Even tried experimental treatments in effort to help his son but nothing has helped. In the aftermath of a violent seizure, he’s there in the dark, holding his son. His heart is worn, mangled, and shell-shocked by every hostile encounter. For a moment he weeps. The weight of failure, anxiety, helplessness, and the strain on his finances begin to crush his heart. In between sobs, he releases short fragments of a prayer. All he can muster the energy to say is “Help—me.” As his son regains consciousness, the father wipes his face, puts back on his veil and assures his son that everything will be ok. Even though things have not improved, there’s a part of him that still believes that God will make it better.
The next day he learns that Jesus’ disciples are healing people just like Jesus himself. Hope immediately fills his heart. He and his son journey to the city where Jesus’ disciples are they finds one! He explains his son’s condition and the disciple prayed but the spirit remained. Other disciples came and prayed but no one could help. The father becomes frantic because he sees the lame walking, the deaf hearing and the lepers cleansed but no one can help his son?! That’s when Jesus overhears the commotion and steps in. Now, let’s pick up where we left off:
The father says “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus tells the desperate father “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes”. This response reminds us of Jesus’ instruction to the Jews who desired true bread of heaven in John 6. Jesus told them that the only work of God was believing His Son. Now to this father, who’s been discouraged by a record of failures, Jesus reveals that the key to his son’s healing lies within his ability to believe. The urgently replies, “Lord I believe; help my unbelief!”
For many of us we stop with the (a) clause of what the father said, we say “Lord, I believe!” I spend a great deal of time praying for people. Many who’s bodies are being ravaged by cancer, many who are dealing and fighting with COVID, many who are battling depression, many marriages that are being challenged, among so many others who are going through in this season. While praying for them, I would always declare something like, “God, I believe you to be a healer! God, I believe you to be a reconciler! God, I believe that you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all I could ask or think! God, I believe!” These are things we often say to charge our faith and build our zeal! Each of these statements are true and are worth praising God for. But it seems to me that when Jesus looked at him with eyes full of compassion and understanding, the father knew that he’d been made. Jesus could see through the façade. He saw past what was presented and fixated on what was behind the veil that concealed his unbelief. And the father said “You know what...? Let me remove this. And let me be honest. Lord, I believe, but help me with my unbelief.” This is not a statement of contradiction. It’s a statement of condition. This father was clearly a believer, but his faith has undergone a great deal of suffering. The Greek word used for unbelief is apistia which means weakness of faith. Therefore, unbelief is not the absence of belief. Unbelief is a belief that’s been weakened, battered, and even broken. Think of it—the feeling of experiencing failure after failure, hitting wall after wall, facing rejection after rejection. That does something to you!
Maybe you’re reading this and realize that you’ve experienced a lot. Yet, you’ve been going and going and going, acting like everything is ok but God is saying in a calm compassionate voice, “Hold up… Let’s take a moment. Let’s pull back the veil. And let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about the thing you’ve been ignoring. Let’s talk about the thing that you’ve overlooked.” God sees the real you. Not the version with the veil but the version that lives beneath your skin. It’s time to remove the veil of unbelief and invite God into your heart.
I encourage you to slow down. Depending on how long it’s been since you’ve looked behind the veil, there may be years of events that have happened. Don’t do this carelessly. Intentionally take the time and say “God, we need to talk about this. I have some concerns. My faith has been abused and battered. It’s taken some shots and I need some help.” The good news is that He’s faithful to help. Remember the desperate father? His son was delivered and healed.” The same is possible for you, but it begins when you remove the veil. Consider employing a therapist as they can be very helpful with unpacking and navigating such thoughts. I admit, this is a challenging work, but it’s the necessary work of faith. Not only should your faith be deep, but it also must be healthy.
Day 4: The Disguise of Disbelief
Day 5: Good & Greater
Watch This Week's Message!
Posted in Prayer365