The Challenge of Faith

TheChallengeofFaith

A (Very) Brief History

• Daughter Faith diagnosed at an early age as “at risk” for Autism.

• Enrolled in research study and undergoes extensive therapy.

• Jim, Marci, family, friends mount an aggressive prayer campaign.

• God healed our daughter!!!–Only kid to exit the program w/o diagnosis!

Lessons Learned

• You don’t “deserve” comfort.– (As you might define it).–Check Paul, 2 Corinthians 11:23-27

• You don’t “deserve” deliverance.– (As you might define it).–Check Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

• Our great revelation was expecting God’s power while finding complete satisfaction.

Expect the Attack

• Marci and I were quick to proclaim Jesus’ healing work in our lives.

• My dad wisely warned us that the attack would come.

• Why?– Elijah flees (1 Kings 19)–David banished (1 Samuel 21)–Paul’s persecution (Acts 9)

11p13

• An afterthought changes the whole narrative.

• Marci and I now grapple with the feeling of fraudulence.

• There are many crevices in a shadow of doubt…–Did God deliver Faith, or did luck and

science?

A Fish…With Indigestion

• Did God work a miracle in Faithie’s life, or didn’t He?

• Did Faith have Autism to be healed from in the first place?– YES

• Was she, then, miraculously delivered or not?– In comes a fish with an answer…

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the

temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth

collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?”

“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not offend them, go to the

lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-

drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Matthew 17:24-27

Navel Studying 101

• Was this event a miracle?• Did God “spontaneously generate” a coin

in the fish’s mouth?• Did God orchestrate a clumsy fisherman, a

hungry fish, a needy disciple, a lucky catch, perfect timing, and exact change?

A Miracle by Any Other Name

• In searching out Biblical truth, I came to recognize two families of miracles:–Creation Power Miracles• Creation, burning bush, never-ending oil, sun

stands still, water to wine, lame walking, blind seeing, dead rising…

–Miracles of Circumstance• Egyptian plagues, springs from rock, David’s

stone, Elijah’s rain, Messianic prophecy…

Analyzing Faith’s Miracle

• 11p13 deletions happen with some frequency.– There are 12 known cases of duplications in

the past four decades.– Faith’s duplication is smaller than the

smallest known case to date.

Autism? What’s that?

• One hallmark of God’s deliverance is not fully understanding or appreciating the danger God has rescued you from.

• 11p13 duplication ended up being the scariest monster in the entire story!

Faith’s Peers

• Of the 7 children in the 11p13 study:–Physical deformation of forehead.–Multiple deformations, psychomotor

difficulties, behavioral problems.– Sudden death at 7 months.–Deformations, poor eyesight, delays.–Retinal detachment.–Deformation, speech & learning difficulties.–Deformation, psychomotor delay.

Analyzing Faith’s “Luck”

• Caught early.• Treated early.• Vigorous and unrelenting prayer that God

would heal her completely of Autism.• Autistic symptoms intensify, and then

disappear at final diagnosis.• Only qualified child to leave the program

without diagnosis.

Analyzing Faith’s “Luck”

• Diagnosed with exceptionally rare genetic duplication with catastrophic implications.

• Smallest recorded case in known literature.

• As of today, is no longer interesting to UCSD or the neurologist.

• Beautiful, healthy, and frighteningly intelligent!

The Skeptic’s Lottery

• You guys were just lucky. Extraordinary coincidence!– Yeah, right!• Earnestly prayed for this outcome.• Received the outcome we were praying for.• Learned of even greater danger avoided.• The rarest case among the rarest of cases.

– Fish…meet coin!

Challenge or Attack?

• After spiritual victory, challenge often comes.

• What’s the difference between a challenge or attack?–How you respond to it!

• God is seeking to bring you into closer dependence, and Satan is working hard to pull you away.

Takeaway

• Don’t count miracles out.• Don’t complain when the miracle isn’t

what you expected!• Don’t overlook the miracles that are

happening in your life!• Thank God for the miracles He has done.• Give Him the praise, honor and glory!