Have you ever questioned why it seems your faith “isn’t working”? Faith does work, but it was never designed to work in isolation. Today, I want to build a faith sandwich for you.
Maybe because of the way life has been panning out, you’ve concluded that you simply don’t have enough faith. After all, if faith works, and it doesn’t seem to be working for you, maybe the problem is that you’re missing it altogether.
Allow me to debunk that theory by reminding you that God has given all of us faith.
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Romans 12:3 (NKJV)
If this is the case, why does it feel as if faith doesn’t work? It’s because you’ve not made the sandwich.
Make faith “work”
Let me start by saying I’ve never written a best-selling book on releasing your faith. I only know what I’ve read in God’s Word and what I’ve experienced in my own life. I’ve read plenty of books and listened to plenty of sermons, and while those things have value, by themselves they don’t make faith “work.”
I’ve been reading in the books of Mark and James recently. Today, my reading brought me to Mark 11 and James 5. These two chapters connected so beautifully; both have faith as a central theme.
In Mark 11, Jesus enters Jerusalem on His way to die. He curses a fig tree (which feels very random when you’re reading the chapter for the first time). Later on, He passes by the tree again, and His disciples remark that it had withered (duh, He cursed it, remember?). This is the launchpad of the famous Mark 11:23-24 (ESV):
“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Many sermons have been preached from these powerful verses on faith. Yet it is easy to stop reading too soon. The very next verse adds another ingredient to the sandwich, Mark 11:25 (ESV):
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
I then moved over to James 5:13-20, where I read more about faith:
Vs 15 “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
The scaffolding of faith
To get the context of the lessons of faith taught in James 5 and Mark 11, it is important to see the teachings in light of the points before and after: principles of forgiveness and fruitfulness. These principles are part of the scaffolding for the faith sandwich.
Forgiveness ➡️ Faith ➡️ Fruitfulness
Faith sits between forgiveness and fruitfulness. We forgive because we’ve been forgiven. We trust because God is trustworthy. And from that life of trust comes fruit. Remove either slice of bread, and the sandwich falls apart.
Have you tried to eat a sandwich without a bun or bread? There are shops dedicated to making sandwiches. Sure they try to call things sandwiches that aren’t true sandwiches by using a tortilla or lettuce, but that’s not a sandwich.
No witchcraft allowed
Faith isn’t a way of summoning or conjuring on our part. That treats faith like a formula or a form of witchcraft. Faith is life lived; it is an action of trust that is accompanied by our speaking God’s Word. The power is not a potion. It is us living in agreement with Who God is.
Go get your bread. I like whole grain. Maybe you prefer a French baguette. It doesn’t matter. Just make the sandwich. You may discover that faith was never the missing ingredient.