In today’s reading we encounter a powerful passage about faith. A passage that teaches us something crucial about how God works in our lives. The story is a story of healing.

Luke 17:11-19 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance,crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

Did you catch that? When were they healed? They weren’t actually healed the moment Christ spoke to them. They weren’t healed as they encountered Christ. They were healed “as they went”. This is a powerful picture of how God works. Christ offers healing, but the healing required faith. It required that they act on what they believe. When Jesus sends them they are still covered in leprosy, but that didn’t stop them. They obeyed even though they hadn’t seen the healing. It’s their obedience that was faith, and because of that faith they are healed.

So often we hear Jesus speaking to us about the life we were created to live. He calls us to take action believing him about that life. Unfortunately rather than acting we wait. We want to experience the healing before we act, before we obey. We lack faith even though we tell ourselves that we believe. We stand before Jesus professing our belief waiting for him to heal while ignoring the action he’s called us to. In the process we miss the healing.

What has Christ asked you to do that you are hesitating in? What promises are you missing out on because you’re waiting instead of obeying. You may even be mad at God because you haven’t experienced the promise. You’re not going to obey until you’re healed! Faith is not when we act as a result of healing. Faith is when we act believing he will heal even when we haven’t experienced it yet. Don’t live your life waiting. Act. Obey. You can trust him that along the way he will be faithful to what he’s promised.

I hope that today’s reading will encourage you to take that next step. I hope it will encourage you in the step your taking. I hope it will remind you of his faithfulness in the past!