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I love the story of the four men carrying the paralyzed man to Jesus:

Mark 2:2-5 (Passion Translation NT)…While Jesus was preaching the word of God, four men arrived, carrying a paralyzed man. But when they realized that they couldn’t even get near him because of the crowd, they went up on top of the house and tore away the roof above Jesus’ head. And when they had broken through, they lowered the paralyzed man on a stretcher right down in front of him! When Jesus saw the extent of their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “My son, your sins are now forgiven.”

“When Jesus saw the extent of their faith…”

• The four men decided they would take their friend to Jesus
• When they couldn’t get in, they brainstormed a solution
• They did the unorthodox: climbing onto the roof, tearing away the roof (without falling in!), and lowering him down
• I still like what I heard a pastor say years go. “When it says that Jesus saw their faith, what did Jesus see? I think they they dropped the ropes!”

The men were persistent, and they were “all in.” 

Faith = persistence! Jesus even taught that explicitly in Luke 18:

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

James said, “I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2.18)

Recently, June and I paid our house off. We decided a number of years ago to make that a goal, and we really hit it hard. We put nearly all of our discretionary income against the house. Persistently! God came through with extra money a few times that we hadn’t counted on, and protected us from significant unexpected expenses.

What paid off the house? A combination of persistence over time (faith) and the power of God. Just like the man’s healing was a combination of Jesus’ power and his four friends’ faith shown by their persistence.

What could God do in our midst if we exercised active faith?