Immediate Faith

Years ago, during my quiet time, I felt a not-so-gentle urge to underline a specific word in my Bible. The word was “immediately.”

According to Merriam-Webster, the word means “without interval of time.”

And as I flipped through my leather-bound pages, I realized that there were so many instances that this word, in particular, was used. A quick Google search taught me that, depending on the translation, there were up to 184 occurrences of the word in Scripture.

Sure enough, as I sat and studied the book of Matthew, I ran across verses such as these:

• Immediately they left their nets and followed Him (Matthew 4:20, HCSB).
• Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him. (Matthew 4:22, HCSB)
• Reaching out His hand He touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his disease was healed. (Matthew 8:3, HCSB)
• Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Matthew 24:29, KJV)
• Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?? (Matthew 26:53, AMP)

That’s just from one book!

But I still couldn’t figure out why that word weighed so heavily on my heart.

Then I realized. I didn’t always have immediate faith.

More often than not, I have at least an idea of what or how the Lord directs my steps. But when it comes to moving them? That’s a whole different story. 

Sometimes, instead of jumping into the deep end, I dip my toes in the water’s edge before committing to doing what He’s called of me. If I think I can do exactly what He’s asked, then I will accept His call. 

Because let’s be honest, life is hard at times. And it can be extra hard to understand why God sends trials, tribulations, or even some questionable tasks our way. In those moments, it can be hard to choose Him immediately.

However, by that logic, we choose Him to save our souls from hell, but when it comes to “stepping out of our comfort zones” and sharing the gospel with a needy soul at the exact moment we’re told, that’s a whole different story.

What strikes me most about the word immediately is that it further proves just how powerful of a God we serve. Instantly, He healed the sick and raised the dead. In the blink of an eye, they never had to suffer from their previous ailments. And those crazy men who chose to follow Him? They just up and went! They didn’t think twice!

I can’t help but wonder how our world, churches, and lives would look if we didn’t let “an interval of time” pass before doing what the Lord asks of us.

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)