Keep The Switch Of Faith Turned On

Keep The Switch Of Faith Turned On

Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live." 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him…

 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"

36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe." 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping." 40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat. Mark 5:21-24, 36-43 NKJV

Many years ago I heard a well respected Bible teacher use the phrase "Keep the switch of faith turned on." I didn't fully understand until later when I listened to the story of how he came to first use the expression. He had prayed for a boy who had congenital deformities in both feet. There was no immediate manifestation of healing, so he explained to the child's mother, "Every time you think about the boy's feet, or if you're tempted to doubt, say: "Thank you, Lord, for your healing power that was released when we prayed, I believe that I receive healing for his feet." 

A careful reading of Mark 5 shows us that Jesus applied the same principles in a similar situation. Although Jesus hadn't got to pray for Jairus's daughter, he and the daughter's father acted on faith when a negative report was received concerning her death. Jesus' response was to stand firm in faith and to 'keep the switch of faith turned on'. Jesus told Jairus, "Do not be afraid; only believe." Jesus likely allowed only people willing to believe to travel with him (Peter, James and John). Even in the face of ridicule, he refused to confess the child's death, instead, he spoke life by saying, "The child is not dead, but sleeping." He spoke life to the girl and acted on his faith by raising her up with his hand.

Notice that a worsening of the circumstance was, at least in Jesus' thinking, no indication of the will of God or what the eventual outcome would be. Neither did the circumstance affect Jesus' faith or his behaviour.

The Bible speaks of the time between when we have prayed and acted on faith and when the manifestation of what we have 'believed that we receive' (Mark 11:22-24).

Ephesians 6:13-14 says, "Having done everything to take your stand, then stand!". Hebrews 6:12 says to be imitators of "those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Patience means to endure adverse circumstances without changing what you believe and how you walk out your faith.

There may be both spiritual opposition and natural circumstance, which may not align with our faith, which must move and change as we stand firm in what we believe.

Why is it that there is often no immediate physical manifestation of what we know to be God's will and that which we've asked for in prayer, or commanded? The following are several possible reasons:

Firstly, regarding physical healing, God never promises an instant manifestation. Instant manifestations are called 'working or miracles', which are a special working of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10-11). We cooperate with God, using our faith when being ministered to with a special gift of the Holy Spirit. I observed that these occurrences are generally associated with evangelical events and are more frequent with people who are either new to Christianity or new to a belief regarding healing. It's as though God expects maturer Christians to learn to stand on their faith.

Secondly, it seems that God's power is often activated to work with the natural healing process he has created. This is how God usually works throughout Scripture. God blesses the works of our hands; he blesses through sowing and reaping. In Malichi 3:8-12, when God promises to bless those who bring their tithes into the House Of God, his supernatural blessing is upon natural means- "I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe," Malichi 3:11 NIV. If those who gave tithes expected their blessing to fall from heaven, they were in for a disappointment. They'd probably say something like, "Well, it musn't have been God's will to bless me.". No, they had to put their faith into action by ploughing, sowing and harvesting.

Thirdly, there is satanic opposition to the blessings and promises of God in our lives. Even when there has been a manifestation of the promise, we still need to stand in faith to prevent Satan from stealing it back (Matthew 12:44-45).

Finally, God will often use other people as a channel of blessing. Romans 15:25-26, records Paul telling the Romans that he was on his way to Jerusalem to deliver an offering for the saints there, who were in need. No doubt, the saints had prayed and believed that God would provide for their needs. Yet there may have been no way of knowing, in the natural, that Paul was on the way with their provision. Between praying and the manifestation of their request, the church in Jerusalem would have had to 'keep the switch of faith turned on'. You can be sure Satan was trying to do all he could to prevent the finances from getting to the church- there's nothing he hates more than the church getting blessed.

So, what can we do to 'keep the switch of faith turned on'; how do we exercise patience? How do we 'stand'? There are several things.

Firstly, we need to discipline our mind and thoughts to consider, or look to, the goodness of God, his promises and his faithfulness. 

7 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NASB

Secondly, we take control of our mouth and only speak words that affirm what we are believing for. Mark 11:23 say, 'Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.'

Thirdly, we specifically thank God for the fulfilment of his promise and our prayer. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." -Philippians 4:6 NIV

Fourthly, we must continue to feed our faith on God's work, refusing to listen to or mediate on anything contrary. 'Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.' Joshua 1:8 NIV

Follow these four things, and you will stand, and you will see what God has promised.

So, what happened to the child with the deformed feet whose mother was told to 'keep the switch of faith turned on'? Sometime later the minister spoke in the same church and the mother and child were both there. The boy had perfectly formed feet. She told the minister that nothing had happened for days. However, every time she was reminded of the child's feet, she thanked him for his healing power, that it was at work in the child's body. She thanked him for the healed feet, and she said "I believe I receive healing for his feet." After several days, she said, she noticed the boy's ankles and feet had ever so slightly begun to correct. Over the following week, the boys feet were fully healed, and stayed healed.