“Where is your faith?” That's a question Jesus asked his disciples when they were on the lake in the little boat as the storm raged. Jesus was asleep. Out of fear of drowning, they awakened him. Was their faith only good when the sea was calm? What about us? Do we trust God only when things are going our way? Is our faith based upon our situation? Do we chase after a religion that teaches, “If you have enough faith all your problems will disappear”?
Through years of pastoral counseling, I have come to the realization that our biggest problem is a lack of faith. We try to avoid difficult times. We seek to control our every situation believing that if we are in control, we are safe. Yet, our loving Father is allowing problems to teach us and help us grow.
When we commit ourselves to God, we say we want to become like Christ.
God sees where we are lacking in the Christ-like qualities, (Fruit of the Spirit), and puts us n the classroom necessary to develop those qualities. If we lack patience; tribulation! If we lack love; obnoxious people! If we lack faith; trying times. Faith means believing in the love and faithfulness of God that enables us to yield control of our lives, in every situation, to God. However, when push comes to shove, most of us have more trust in doctors than in God. When we have surgery, we sign a document giving permission that allows the doctor to perform the planned surgery and any other deemed necessary. When the storms arise and difficult times come, we want out! Surely a God of Love would not want His children to suffer. Yet Paul says if we are to know the power of His resurrection, we must experience the fellowship of His suffering.
Though Jesus spoke and the waves were stilled, His greater desire was for the disciples to understand His power and love so they would totally surrender their lives to Him. God wants us to “faith” him and live without complaining or murmuring. No harm can come unless God has a greater purpose in it. Can you relax and live within God’s purpose for your life because you “faith” Him completely? I am like the man who asked Jesus to heal his child. Jesus answered, “If you “faith.” The man answered, “I have a little faith, help my faith to grow.” May that be our prayer. I would appreciate your feed-back. Click on “comments” and fire away!
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The tough part is letting go and stepping out in that faith and knowing what it is exactly that God wants me to do. Is it God's will or my own thoughts in a given situation. Afraid to make a wrong decision sometimes I don't act at all and that lends itself to anxiety and frustration.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wish God would just send me an email with a clear directive.
How my faith grew the most was in a real bad situation that only Jesus could fix. In my past I thought I could control most of every situation if I tried hard enough. The only way Jesus could teach me faith and demonstrate that I could trust Him was to allow a bad situation that I could not control in my life no matter how hard I tried. He then stepped in after I surrendered it to Him. By the way, that took a long time for me to do. When you see His power and what He can do through a bad situation then the trust developes more and more. My faith in all situations has grown as well. He can take anything and make it good for those who love Him. The sooner you let go and trust Him the sooner you will experience less anxiety and have peace.
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