And he was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:6)
ONE SUNDAY WHILE PREACHING on the church of Acts, I expressed skepticism about God raising the dead and working miracles like we see in the New Testament. “God doesn’t work that way these days,” I explained.
After the service, a friend approached me and spoke a gentle correction. “Don’t you believe God is able to do whatever He wants? Maybe the reason we see so little of God’s power is because of our lack of faith.”
God used this interaction to bring my unbelief to light. Instead of using the marvelous stories from Acts to inspire faith, I had spoken words of doubt. I was an unbelieving believer who needed to repent of my little faith and receive a fresh infusion of it.
Faith, like manna, must be gathered fresh daily, or else it gets stale and breeds worms. Stale, wormy faith is not the kind that will resurrect anybody.
“Lord, I believe,” I prayed. “Help me in my unbelief.” Instantly, in a beautiful outpouring, God’s holy presence filled my parched soul and reignited my faltering faith.
“Glory!” I shouted with joy. “I believe now!”
I’ve never pulled a corpse from a casket, but that day I experienced a resurrection. Those who believe in the supernatural are much more likely to experience it.
My next sermon was quite different. “Jesus is here and wants to resurrect somebody.”
If you call yourself a believer, then believe!
Mark O. Wilson is senior pastor of Hayward Wesleyan Church in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, and author of Filled Up, Poured Out and Purple Fish (WPH).
