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It is all about faith. Faith in what God wants to do for us. Assurance in what God will do for us, once faith is applied.
In Mark 10, we see several examples:
When Jesus welcomed little children that some wanted to hold back so as not to bother Him, Jesus corrected them and explained that they were the example for all of us in how to come to Him: unafraid, unquestioning, ready to believe He was the giver of good things. Like children, we must come ready to receive. This is the kind of faith God desires.
When Jesus encountered the man of great wealth, and said to him to leave all that he had behind and follow Him, it was again about faith. The man went away sad because he was unable to part with what he had. He misunderstood God. God does not delight in taking good things from us; He delights in giving better. When we trust God with all we have, He restores and pours out even more. In this teaching (verse 30), Jesus explained he would repay 100 times over to those who exchanged faith in themselves and the world, for faith in Him.
Then there was blind Bartimaeus who may have given the clearest lesson. When the blind beggar heard that Jesus was nearby, he shouted to Jesus to have mercy on him. Though the crowd sought to silence Bartimaeus, he would not be silenced. He had decided in his own heart who this man called Jesus was. He was the long-awaited Messiah, the One with the power to save and heal. This was his chance to have his blind eyes opened and he wasn’t going to miss out: “Rabbi, I want to see.” And what did Jesus say? “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you” (verse 52). Immediately, blindness fell away and vision took its place; he arose and followed Jesus.
We must be convicted in our own hearts about Jesus and what He wants to do for us. When we fail to trust in Him, we too are blind. It is a blindness of heart and mind to the One who loves us and waits to bless His children. He asks but one thing in exchange: our faith.
It truly is all about faith.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him
(Hebrews 11:6 NIV).”
Prayerful Pondering 
Thank you for these words, Pat. They were truly God given and spoke to my own heart and circumstances. Thank you again, Blessings, Cass
Beautiful ponderings.
Oh how my heart squeezed and tears filled my eyes as I read this, Pat. What I’ve been through this year is a tiny fraction of all you’ve bourne and still bear. But your words in this blog and how the Lord sifted them through your mind and heart, spoke so very clearly to my heart about faith in Him today. Thank you. In His love~ Sally
I have been through tough times as well…I do not want to talk about them, but about how God carried me through. Without a doubt, I was guided to begin writing when things began to go sour in my life. Since September 14, 1984, no matter what, I have not missed a day. My journal is like my best friend and his name is Jesus. Somedays after I had put the date, all I could say or write was “O, God!” and that was enough. If I am too tired to write at the end of a day, either I cannot sleep until I do, or I have gotten up quite early (4-5 am). On a mission trip in 1988, I sat on a bathroom floor (clean) for 5 hours because God spoke to my heart and I knew I would not sleep until I caught up on the journaling of my blessings that day! I have lived alone through think and thin since 1988 and only with God’s listening to me as I pray and my seeking His guidance, have I been able to write out my woes and worries, my joys and sorrows each day and know that “all will be well; all manner of thing will be well!”………….In His Grace, Judith
I am grateful for your wisdom and encouragement, dear friends. Thanks for giving me feedback.