Faith Without Works is Dead

To go along with my prior writing, Faith Requires Works, I will endeavor to bring the following thoughts a little closer to home and make them more relatable to where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.

This story is not meant to hurt your faith or discourage you in any way.  Rather, it is my desire to encourage you to remain open to what God wants to do in your life and how He can bring about miracles.

As a young boy growing up in the small town of Martinez, California, I was the youngest of four children born to my parents.  Sadly, I suffered from many allergies, which were aggravated by the close proximity of an oil refinery just over the hill.  At times, my allergies became so severe that Dad contemplated moving to a drier climate more suitable for my health.  Phoenix, Arizona, became his final choice.

One winter in Martinez, I became very ill with a bad cough that settled deep into my bronchial tubes.  Mom and Dad did everything they knew to do to help the cough subside.  They used two vaporizers placed beneath a makeshift tent while I breathed in the steam.  They also rubbed Vicks VapoRub, a mentholated topical ointment, on my chest.  My parents believed deeply in prayer and were earnestly seeking God for a miracle.

Finally, they took me to a doctor who diagnosed my condition as a severe case of acute bronchitis.  Dad took me home against the doctor’s advice.  The doctor wanted to hospitalize me immediately, but Dad was a man of faith who believed prayer was the key to bringing about miracles.

Back at home, Mom and Dad continued praying and expecting God to move.  However, when they returned with me to the doctor for another examination, he said I was three times worse than before and now suffering from bronchopneumonia, or viral pneumonia.

Dad’s faith in God did not waver.  He remained determined that prayer would produce the miracle so desperately needed.

But this time, as Dad turned to leave the examination room, the doctor stopped him with a stern voice and said angrily, “If you don’t allow me to put him in the hospital, don’t bother bringing him back to me!”

Dad reluctantly yielded to the doctor’s insistence while questioning God as to why the miracle had not yet happened.

I still remember arriving at the hospital, nervously walking inside, and meeting some of the staff.  I knew I was going to be left there, so I asked Dad if I could give him one more hug before they left.  I wrapped my arms around his neck with all the strength I had and cried, “Don’t leave me!  Don’t leave me!”

It took three nurses to pull me free from his neck.  That must have absolutely broken my parents’ hearts.

The staff immediately placed me in an oxygen tent and began excellent care, comforting me and doing everything possible to make me comfortable.  After a short time, things began to turn around.  The cough subsided, strength returned to my body, and healing came quickly.

I cannot remember how long I remained in the hospital, but when I returned home, I heard Dad tell someone, “It was like a miracle!”

At times, God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.  God is God, and He knows exactly who we are and what our needs may be.  Answers to prayer do not always come in the way we think they should, but we must remain open to God’s perfect will and trust His omnipresent power to bring about miracles as He sees fit—not according to our own dogmatic thinking.

We must be careful not to place God in a box of our own making, expecting Him to work only through the methods we have predetermined.  In my dad’s defense, faith was indeed at work, but he also had to learn something important about God’s providence: faith requires works to follow.

Dad heard God speak through the doctor that day. 

The “works” began when Dad finally said the words, “Put him in the hospital.”

Scripture says in James 2:17, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

My final words are these: call the doctor, take the pills, take the shots, and remain open to wise counsel rather than holding to a biased opinion or a closed mind regarding the workings of God. 

Do not miss His will because you believe a miracle must come only in a certain way.

Before making any decision, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, then move forward in faith with action following behind it.

Me must guard against tunnel vision so we do not miss God’s perfect will for the situation at hand.

Written by, 

Papa Boyd