I was reading last night and today about Jesus calming the storm... (see Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:36-41; Luke 8:22-25) and it struck me things happen, life happens without warning or suddenly things change. In the blink of an eye our circumstances can change... but does our peace, our faith all of the sudden flee us? In these times do we hold fast to what we know to be true? (Isaiah 54:10) Do we keep our focus on Jesus? (Heb. 12:2) Do we panic; is our faith shaken? Or as Jesus put it: "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"
You understand that a good number of the disciples had been fishermen, they had endured storms... I am sure this one was a sight to behold! However, had they not been with Jesus, witnessed miracles? Was he not even then among them!?! Yes! And that applies to us as well... for we know that He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). As a believer I am sure you can testify to times you have seen the Lord at work in you and your life... but some how, just like the disciples, when the storms come they can overwhelm us and make us forget all of that.... Of course this isn't always true ... but we each have our moments, right?
Yes, we should go to the Lord and cry out to Him in our distress... that is not the issue. The issue is when we cry out to Jesus are we crying out in fear or in faith? Do we believe in our God more than we do our circumstances? Are we believing in His promises and believing that we have nothing to fear? (1 Jn. 4:18; Rom. 8:31) We should because the God of all Creation is on our side!!! And he has told us not to worry or be anxious, not to fear... (Matt. 6:25-34; Phil. 4:6).
Another way to look at this, or example I should say is to look at Luke 1:18-20 & 34-38. As you read these verses do you see the difference? Mary asked a question about what seemed to most an unbelievable thing... but she believed, she just wanted to understand how this would happen to her! However, when Zechariah questioned the angel it was not in faith but in unbelief that such a thing could happen. And that is the point I am trying to make... Cry out to Jesus but do so in faith, believing that He is in control... ( You should check out Daniel 3:16-27, as a good example).
(Prayer) - Oh LORD forgive me and help me to over come my unbelief. Grant me LORD faith that is great enough to move mountains and a steadfast spirit within me. May I not let my circumstances dictate my reactions but my faith in you determine my course. Let it all be for your glory! Amen. (Ps. 51:10; Matt. 17:20; Mark 9:24)
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2 Remarks:
Hey if you want to link to passages in Scripture. Go find your passage or verses on biblegateway.com or something copy and paste the url then as you are posting write out the address of the verses or passage click on the thing that looks like to links of a chain and then paste the address that you copied into the box that pops up. Hope this helps.
You're right on target, April.
i like what you brought out about crying out for JESUS in belief vs unbelief...
Oswald Chambers wrote "it matters not what GOD does, it matters only Who He is!" -- believe this wholeheartedly and i try to live it out in my day to day l ife.
Yet like you've written, we come to our storms and sometimes, that particular one or two may seem overwhelming. i've gone through some storms and now i know He will never leave me nor forsake me...and yet i know this faith will be tested again -- and strengthened in the process.
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