If I asked you what your worst subject in school was, what would you say? Now if I asked you why it was your worst, you’d probably think of some reasons. It could be you didn’t like the teacher. That could be the class that had the most homework in it. Maybe you never did quite understand it and once you got behind, you could never catch up again. When we have a learning gap in a subject, it can create tension, especially if you struggle to fill that gap. Some parents get their kids a tutor to fill the learning gap. Some spend some extra time trying to help their kids. Then there are those who say, “I didn’t like it either. You’re just going to have to live with it.” That person lives with that gap and has a mental block that they may never get past.
Let’s take that same concept and apply it to our faith. There are people in the Bible who had some gaps. In Mark 9 we read the story of a man who had a son that was possessed by a demon. The disciples had a gap in their faith and couldn’t cast it out. When they approached Jesus, the boy went into convulsions and Jesus asked how long had he suffered like that. He told him it had been happening since childhood and asked if Jesus could do anything to help. Jesus said, “What do you mean ‘if’?” He then flipped it on him and said, “If you are able to believe, all things are possible to the believer” (TPT). The man recognized his gap and said, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (NLT)
I Thessalonians 3:10 says, “Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.” Where are your gaps in your faith that you need filled? What are the areas you struggle to understand or grow in? We all have them, but not all of us are doing something to fill them. We become like the student who just lives with the gap and struggles with it their whole life. Once you’ve identified your gap, join a life group that covers that subject, ask your pastor to recommend a book on the subject and seek God for understanding and help like the man in Mark 9. There are lots of ways to grow in the different areas of our faith. You don’t have to live with the gaps. We should be constantly growing and learning in our faith to fill the gaps so we can be have strong roots that grow down deep into Jesus.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 