Capable
Why do we fail to see our own abilities?
When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there”, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’ - Matthew 17:14-21
I believe people are much more capable of moving mountains than they think.
When I was on vacation, my staff performed fabulously. They made decisions and carried them out beautifully without my input.
But on my return, they went right back to questioning every decision, and seeking my advice before executing on them.
Why?
When we have no one to ask, we act on faith, but if we doubt our own abilities, and expect to fail, we will.
The disciples couldn't cast out demons because they never believed they could. The message in all of this is simple. Jesus says we can, so we should believe.
If Jesus came to show us miracles and then leave us without them, what is the point in that? I believe he came to show us what we could do if we have faith, and he expects us to carry on for him.
That's why he got upset with the disciples. They should have been able to do what he sent them to do.
We tend to demonize those who believe in themselves too much. Doctors are sometimes accused of playing God, for example. But we need them to play God, to be capable of saving and healing those who are sick.
If we stop ourselves from thinking we can make a difference, we won't.
It's as simple as that.
To change the world for the better, we have to believe we can.
Believe. Then do.
More to come...