Inspired by . . . thoughts on faith Vol. II

Inspired by . . . Thoughts on Faith Vol. II

 

Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them,

Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

But as they sailed He fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake;

and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish.

Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water:

and they ceased, and there was a calm.

And He said unto them, Where is your faith?  Luk 8:22-25

 

 

It was a gentle rebuke, I think, that Jesus gave the disciples here, “Where is your faith?”

After all, He had just displayed His power and authority over the wind and the sea. Surely He knew that that would terrify them more than the storm itself.

 

And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another,

What manner of Man is this!

for He commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey Him.  Luk 8:25

 

 

Can you imagine this scene? Many of the disciples were fishermen. They had fished this lake all their lives. For them to say, “we perish!” it must have been quite a storm indeed! Why shouldn’t they have been afraid? What did Jesus expect them to do?

I think He expected them to do the same thing He expects us to do when the storms rage, and the boat fills with water, and we feel like we’re perishing. When we feel like we can’t take one more trial, one more hurtful comment, one more failure, one more mistake.

He expects us to:

 

Believe.

 

In Him.

In His promises.

In His Power.

In His Provision.

How do we do this?

 

 

To begin with, you may want to ask yourself: Is Jesus is even on my boat? Do I believe in Him?

And if He is curled up at the stern, sleeping peacefully as you look around at the chaos of your life, ask yourself, do you trust Him to do what He says He will do? Have you read His word, so that you know what He said He would do? And do you believe He has the power to do it?

If so, how will you act on that belief? Do we wake Jesus, like His disciples did, in a panic. Whining about the circumstances, screaming for Him to do something to fix it? {I confess, I do this often}

Or do we trust that He Himself is our portion. Our Provision.

Instead of panic, what if we curled up beside Him, under the shelter of His wing, and waited for Him to act?

 

 

Would He rebuke us then? Or might He say, "My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble." Mark 5:34

Yes, He might say that, but He could also say, "My grace is all you need, for My power is greatest when you are weak." 2Co 12:9

And if that is the case, may we, like Paul respond, “I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me.”

 

 

Lord, we pray, increase our faith!

Going deeper,

June

 

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