Luke 18:35-42 (AMP)

Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well.”

I’m learning to live according to the power of my faith. Are you doing the same?

Here we are at the end of August, the temperature beginning to change and our lives about to go through another cycle of change. Our children are about to be rushed off to school with lunchboxes in hand while our young adults have been dropped off in their dorms, facing transitions of their own. Isn’t this the best time to address where we stand and where we’re going? Longer days are ahead of us—our vacations on the beach have ended, the slow drip of time gone until summer rolls around again. Now is the time to reassess what we have accomplished this year and put a plan in place for goals we would like to fulfill throughout the second half of the year. 

I want to reflect on a passage in Luke Chapter 18. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, and on His way, He passes through Jericho. Crowds form with mixed reactions—some of adoration and some of spiritual suspicion. A blind man begins to cry louder and louder until he gains Jesus’ attention. Jesus singles him out and asks him what he wants. The man wants to regain his sight; he wants to regain something that was once lost—something he once had, something he holds faith in Jesus to restore. And as the text says, the man receives his sight because his faith made him well. Jesus performs the miracle. 

Now let’s go back to the part where the blind man is crying for Jesus’ attention in a crowd full of some who do not share his faith in Jesus. He stood true to his convictions. He stood strong in his faith. He did not let the people around him that did not share the size of his faith stop him from a God-sized opportunity. While it may have been impossible for others, the blind man believes that despite how many keys didn’t work in the past, God said he was going to open a door, and this was going to be the key that opened it. He cried and cried, and he cried louder. And when he shouted and praised God, it made everyone do the same. The man’s faith is rewarded.

Developing and maintaining your faith may not be easy, but the more we begin to trust God with the details of our lives, the simpler it becomes. Spiritual opportunities will always be afforded to us when we maintain our faith. The power of faith is how you get God’s attention. Don’t use a seasonal or situational faith. Don’t lean on God every now and then. Live as an expression of faith, and you will see your goals reached and your prayers answered. 

Follow your path, no matter the people around you trying to shut you up while you’re shouting out. Ignore their limited faith, and keep crying like the blind man. There will be people around you that may not understand your faith and may not understand your goals, but do not allow them to discourage you from fulfilling the aspirations you have set. Imagine a life so powerful, effective, and purposeful that it takes God to make it happen, and don’t let anyone stop you.