Where is Your Faith?



And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, "Where is your faith?" (Luke 8:22-39)

Other accounts of this storm (vv. 22–25) express Jesus' words differently ("O ye of little faith" in Matthew and "How is it that ye have no faith?" in Mark), but Luke's "Where is your faith?" conveys a different angle. Where was the disciples' faith?

Did their fear temporarily scare it away, or was it resting elsewhere? Were they depending on things they'd been depending upon before meeting Jesus—the ability to earn a living, the sturdiness of their boat, good friends to talk things over with? In those dire moments in the boat, it's unlikely the disciples embarked on much self-examination.

An old hymn says: "Master, the tempest is raging...Carest Thou not that we perish? How canst Thou lie asleep...?" The refrain repeats, "Peace! Be still." And a beautiful reminder, "No waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies!"

Storms we face range today from various crises to steady, daily dissatisfactions. Storms can come in the form of unfulfilling work, together with irritating co-workers. Our storms may be health-related, like COVID or even unnamed fears that arrive unpredictably. Other storms may be seemingly impenetrable layers of worldly affection encasing a heart that has neither time nor room for loving God nor a mind occupied with everything except studying and dwelling on His precepts.

We frequently think of the storms that need calming as coming from the outside. But we should also examine our storms on the inside. Let's include in our prayers a plea against internal storms: noise, resistance, fear, and small faith.

Luke's gospel gives many accounts proving the truth of Gabriel's words to Mary, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." Jesus embodies the "nothing is impossible" power of God. He is still "Master of ocean and earth and skies" and of every storm that may be testing or hindering your faith.

LET US PRAY - Lord Jesus, our cluttered minds and hindered hearts need the steady rain of your Spirit breaking through years of built-up affections. May we give You the attention we long to give You during this season of Lent. In Jesus' name. Amen.


Location: Exmouth, Reino Unido

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Danger

Image
If you’re reading this right now then be warned. This devotional to spiritual warfare is a bit dangerous, not to you, but to your way of life. If ignorance is bliss, it aims to destroy that bliss forever. Imagine living in a house infested with termites. For years you never noticed them. Just beyond reach, just out of sight, they lived, they ate, they spawned, they festered. For all those years you blindly ate, played, and slept, unaware of the lurking presence right beneath your head at night. If you live in a house full of termites is it better to know or is it simpler to live in ignorance? If you prefer ignorance, then stop reading right now. If you don’t want to know about the spiritual forces that have been eating away at the foundation of your life and family like termites, then there’s no need to go any farther. Ignorance is in fact bliss, at least for the short term. This book’s aim is nothing short of ripping up the base boards, pulling out the sheetrock and exposing the d...
Read more

Worship

Image
Text: Psalm 104.24-35 Psalm 104 starts and ends with the words, “Praise the Lord, my soul”. The beginning and the end are a proclamation of praise to the Almighty God. In fact, the whole psalm is a review of the greatness of God in creation and, therefore, a meditation on God’s providence. To consider such things, helps us to draw closer to God and worship Him. If we are sincere with ourselves, our daily situations (children, work, news, stress, etc.) can take our attention away from God. It is not easy to just plug-in and worship the Lord. I find myself missing so much of God’s creation, because my mind wanders off to my daily concerns. My wife calls me to really see the beauty around us, otherwise I would miss it. How easy it is for us to be carried away and not once lift our eyes to the Lord, and worship Him that created the earth. Let us open our spiritual eyes, God has revealed through the authors of the Psalms that all of creation is called to worship. It is not just appreciation...
Read more

Fight Together

Image
Stand . . . Take . . . Pray. Ephesians 6:10, 14, 18 The final step in successful spiritual warfare is one that is as critical as the others but it is far too easily missed. The last step isn’t a specific verse or a piece of armor mentioned, but rather a verb tense. When most Americans read the armor of God passage in Ephesians 6, we read it through the lens of our individualistic, self-focused mindset. We worry about ourselves first and foremost. As harsh as it sounds, everyone else can fend for themselves. But that’s not the intention at all behind Paul’s instructions on spiritual warfare. When Paul tells us to stand firm, to take the pieces of armor, to pray, the verb is not in the singular form, it’s in the plural. To use Southern language, it’s as if he’s saying, “Y’all stand, y’all take, y’all pray.” Why is this important? Because too often our defeat in spiritual warfare comes from the fact that we try and engage in it on our own. And please understand this: if the enemy ha...
Read more