Luke 8:25
“And he said unto them, Where is your faith? 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.”
I must admit that there have been times when I found myself in the same boat with the disciples wondering why Jesus wasn’t doing something. The disciples obeyed the word of Jesus when He said, “Let us go over unto the other side of the lake.” They did not fight His command. They did not question His command. They obeyed at once, but in the middle of obedience they found themselves in a storm that seemed to threaten their lives. This storm was so violent that water filled the boat and they had done all they could do to keep from sinking, when finally they cried to Jesus, “Master, master, we perish.” Of course, Jesus immediately calmed the storm and they were able to safely make it to the other side.
Jesus asked a strange question after He calmed the storm, “Where is your faith?” This question was more of a reminder to the disciples that in the midst of their obedience they got their eyes off their faith and allowed the storm to question the Master. He was simply reminding them that whenever they face storms or battles in life that they must be careful not to take their eyes off Him.
Do you find yourself in the same predicament of the disciples? Have you obeyed the Word of the LORD, but instead of things getting better they seemed to have gotten worse? It is in these times that you must be very careful that the Devil doesn’t shake your faith. The Devil will lie and tell you that obeying Christ got you in that predicament, but you must not allow his lies to shake your faith in Jesus Christ. There are a couple of lessons you need to remember from this story.
First, obedience is always the right thing to do no matter what happens. God never said that obedience would make things better, but it is always right to obey. Don’t question God’s Word or your act of obedience when things get worse. If you obeyed, you did the right thing.
Second, don’t let the storms and battles sidetrack you from your faith. It is very easy to get so wrapped up in trying to stay afloat in the storms that you take your eyes off Jesus. You must always take time during the storms to refocus on your faith by reading the Word of God and praying. You will become overwhelmed by the storms and battles if you take your eyes off Him.
Let me ask you, where is your faith? Have you lost focus of your faith because you placed it on the storm? Have you lost focus of your faith because you are trusting man to get you through? Have you allowed the noise of booming thunder and the crackling lightening to get you off focus? My friend, if Jesus told you to go to the other side, then He will get you to the other side. Stop struggling with trying to survive your storms by yourself and realize that your faith is in the boat with you. Stop and take the time to look at your faith, Jesus Christ, and realize that you should not be shaken by your storms if He isn’t. If you will stay focused on your faith, then you will be calm through every storm just like Jesus was.