Faith Based Thinking
There are a lot of people who will tell you why you “cannot” do something. But as Henry Ford once said, “I am looking for a lot of people who have an infinite capacity to not know what can’t be done.” So the question is not what cannot be done…but what can be done. This was the test Jesus had for his disciples when they were faced with what seemed to be an insurmountable problem.
Thousands of people were gathered to hear Jesus teach, and it was dinner time. So Jesus turned to his disciple Phillip and asked, “Where can we buy some food for these people?” Then we are told that he asked this “only to test him.” He wanted to know if his disciples would be Faith-based thinkers or Fact-based thinkers.
Phillip’s reaction was, “Eight month’s wages would not buy enough bread for each person to have a little bite.” Phillip knew right away what “could not be done.” The facts were in. They didn’t add up. There was nothing he could do.
Andrew saw the problem and offered a limited solution. “Here’s a boy with five loaves of bread and a couple of fish, but that won’t go far.” Andrew’s solution was limited because it was based on his own resources. So, he was moving toward faith-based thinking…but he was hedging a bit.
However, Andrew did a very wise thing. Even though he didn’t know how this problem would be solved, he took the problem to Jesus. As Robert Shuller used to say, “We should shift our focus from the problem to the power.”
When we get Jesus involved we are shifting our thinking from Fact-based to Faith-based thinking. And when we do that, we have the awesome privilege of seeing the power of God at work. Faith-based thinkers are forward looking people, knowing that “God will meet our every need according to God’s glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). So, think about that the next time you face a big test in your life. Bring your problems to Jesus, faithfully follow God’s lead, and watch the power of God at work in ways that are beyond our greatest imaginations.
Blessings—Tim Hobbs, Pastor