Walking by Faith

Faith:  We're told that a small amount of faith (the size of a mustard seed--Matthew 17:20) will enable us to speak to mountains and remove them from the landscape.  Where does that kind of faith come from?  The Bible also states that we all have a measure of faith.  (Romans 12:3) Have you ever wondered how large God's measuring tool is?

Sometimes my faith seems weak and ineffective--but yet I hold on, knowing God is all-powerful and can do the impossible.   Even then, I can't take credit for having faith, for it is the Faith of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Galatians 2:20  "...I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

My grandfather, Ed Garlock talked about that faith and lived it.  He daily quoted II Corinthians 5:7--"We walk by faith, not by sight."  It was not just a memory verse to him--he trusted God to do what He said he would do, according to His Word.  He looked to Him for healing, provision, direction, everything.

You see, God had performed the miraculous in Edward's life when he took him out of the miserable state he had sunk to.  A dying, hopeless, drunk, addicted to drugs and a destructive lifestyle--God reached down and lifted him to the rank of Child of God, and heir and joint-heir with Christ.

Suddenly a filthy wretch felt clean.  An addict was free!  A dying man received new life.  It should not be a surprise that he then began asking God to heal the sick, raise the dead, and bring salvation to the lost.  He simply took God at His Word and then waited for the answer.  The miraculous never became mundane--but it was almost a daily occurrence. 

When I was born, thirty-two years after my grandfather's redemption, "walking by faith" was just a way of life--not only for my grandparents, but for my parents as well.  My father, David Garlock was the youngest of Edward and Jessie Garlock's twelve children.  He personally experienced Christ's healing hand over and over again as he grew up in their home.  A compound fracture of his leg--where the bone punctured through the skin in a criss-cross manner was healed without a physician other than the GREAT PHYSICIAN in attendance.  Other miracles of healing and provision marked his life.  As he and my mother worked pioneering full Gospel churches they saw God open doors and bring things to pass that could only be explained as miraculous. 

They then followed with the same tenacity in faith that my grandparents had.  Seeking God, they held on, with a pit-bull-type of grip--walking in faith--and not sight when there was a need.  It was natural to believe that God was a God of the impossible, growing up where this was taught.

So where does the faith comes from to see the miraculous occur?  It comes from God.  It's a gift from God.  It's the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ (another of my grandfather's famous by-words).  But what we do with the faith is up to us.  Do we live in it, walk in it, operate our lives in it.  This simply means, putting your trust and confidence in God to do what He has promised He will do--and then letting that trust take you to the point that you give everything to Him,

resting in the knowledge He will work all for your good.

So do you have to be raised in a home where faith is fed to you for breakfast, lunch, supper and a snack before you go to bed?  Of course not.  We all have a measure of faith--put a little spiritual yeast in it and let it rise!

Read about faith in action in Generations--to be released Friday, October 17, 2013.