He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? . . . And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. Mark 6:1-2, 5-6a
Only one thing can block us from receiving God’s blessing and power in our lives – our own lack of faith.
If there is any dam that blocks the flow of grace and mercy, we have built it ourselves like busy beavers. It is constructed out of twigs of doubt, held together with the sludge of our anxieties and negative thoughts. All of the debris in our lives that we try to scoop up ourselves and turn into something useful and purposeful accumulate to plug up the flow between us and our Lord. We stop His love from gushing into our souls, and then wonder why it only trickles through and we are left parched.
In the Doxology we sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” Until we realize the truth of that phrase and let it seep into us, that dam remains. We built it up ourselves, but Christ can send it crashing down with the force of His love – if we let Him break through. The people of his hometown wouldn’t. So His power to influence their lives was thwarted. He only could heal a few of the sick – perhaps individuals who were desperate enough to believe.
Do we give him bits and pieces, like doling out candy to a small child? “Here Jesus- do this for me or heal this hurt. Then, if you do that, I might give you something else.” Or do we give it all to Him, trusting He will handle it in perfect timing? Do we give him just a bit of the sludge clogging up our lives, or invite Him to knock the dam down and flood our lives with His abundant grace?
Do we dare do that? Could we handle that much God in our lives?
