WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?
Lost in a crisis. Found in Christ.
Luke 8:22-25 One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
Have you ever lost something? Maybe you’ve had that feeling before. You look in your pockets. You look around the house. You can’t find your keys. You can’t find your wallet. Where is it? For awhile you stay calm, but then you start to get nervous. What if I can’t find my keys, or my wallet? Am I going to have to replace everything? Where is it?
What is the most common thing that people lose? Jewelry? Cell phones? Stuffed animals? Remote controls? What about faith? Have you ever lost your faith? Not that you stopped being a Christian, but, for a moment, your confidence in Christ, your confidence in his love, his power, his wisdom – it disappeared for awhile. Something bad was happening to you, and you panicked. You thought all was lost. Has that ever happened to you? Today we’re going to talk about faith - how we sometimes lose it in a crisis, but also, how we can always find it as we focus on Christ.
Don’t the disciples remind you of yourself? They were sailing in their boat. Everything was calm. But then suddenly, a storm came up out of nowhere. Water was pouring into the boat. You can almost picture the boat rocking back and forth. The Bible tells us that they were in great danger. This is the sort of thing that can kill people. And it happened very suddenly.
Isn’t this how life works? Just like that storm on the lake, a crisis can come suddenly come up in your life, out of nowhere. One moment, everything is calm. But suddenly, everything can change. A woman goes to the doctor for a routine checkup. The doctor finds something on the x-ray that shouldn’t be there. If you’re that woman, you’re suddenly fighting the battle of your life – cancer. A man goes into work one day – he’s been working hard there for the last ten years. But today, he’s told that he’s going to lose his job. The company is cutting staff to save money. If you’re that man, you’re suddenly wondering where your next paycheck is going to come from.
A crisis can happen very suddenly. And the dangers that we face are very real. That storm on the lake was a real threat to the lives of those disciples. The same is true for the crises that we face in our lives. They are real, and they can be dangerous. If you’re facing cancer, it can spread, and can eventually become terminal. If you’re working hard to find a new job, you may not find one right away, and you could lose your house.
And that’s when we panic. It’s easy to be a calm, confident Christian when everything is going well – you are healthy, people love you, and you have money. But what happens when no one loves you, and you don’t have any money, and you’re sick? Then we panic. Then we start wondering if God knows what he’s doing. Then we start saying to ourselves, “What did I do wrong? Why is God letting this happen to me? Does God really care? Does God really love me like he says he does in the Bible?” We panic. We doubt. We struggle.
The same was true for those disciples. When the disciples woke up Jesus, they said to him, “We’re going to drown,” they had pretty much lost any hope of surviving the storm. Jesus even said to them, “Where is your faith?” Jesus could see that they had no confidence – only despair and panic.
Have you ever been asked this question: “How are you doing?” What are you supposed to say when people ask you that? You’re supposed to say, “Fine.” But are you really fine? What really is happening in your life? Have you ever said, “Fine” but really you weren’t fine? Life wasn’t going well for you. Maybe that’s how it is right now – I’m not fine. I might look fine on the outside, but my life isn’t going well right now. Things are difficult. Have you ever felt that?
Jesus comforts you this morning, just as he comforted those disciples. Look at what he did for those disciples. He rebuked the wind and the raging waters. The storm subsided. The disciples were amazed, even a little frightened by what they saw. “Who is this,” they said, “he commands even the water, and they obey him.” Jesus did this because he wanted his disciples to know who he was. Up to this point they had never seen him perform a miracle where he controlled nature. They had seen him heal people, but calming a storm? Who is this?
This wouldn’t be the last crisis for those disciples. Eventually, they would see Jesus arrested, and crucified. They would panic, feel hopeless. But then Jesus would perform the greatest miracle of all time, rising from the dead, proving to them once and for all that their faith was in the right place.
Where is your faith? Your faith is in the God who has taken away the biggest problem in your life – he has taken away your sin. Your faith is in a God who became a man, who died for you, and who rose again. Your faith is in the God who forgives you of all of your sins. If you have any doubts that God really loves you, then remember his sacrifice for your sins. If you have any doubts that God is powerful enough to fix your problems, then remember that he was powerful enough to rise from the dead.
Your faith is in Jesus Christ, who offers to you all kinds of promises from the Bible. Jesus doesn’t promise you a trouble-free life. He doesn’t say that you will always be healthy, and have money, and everyone will love you, and you will die at a ripe old age in your sleep. But what does Jesus promise?
He promises to be with your always, as you sit in the hospital waiting room, as you sit at the kitchen table, trying to figure out how you’re going to keep up with your bills, as you lie awake at night, wondering what you’re going to do – “You’re not alone,” Jesus says. “I am with you always. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. I died for you, Jesus says. “I will help you get through this. I will uphold you and strengthen you. I am for you. I care about you.” These are the things that Jesus promises to you, that he will work all these things out, the good and the bad, for your good – these are promises you can always depend on.
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters." And so the boy, even though he couldn’t see his father, jumped, and he was saved.
Isn’t that a picture of faith? You can’t see Jesus, but he can see you. He can when the waters of your life suddenly become stormy. He’s well-aware of those moment when you feel like panicking, like despairing. Today, in his Word, Jesus tells you that those are the moment to especially put your trust in him. You can stay calm. You can stay confident. Why? Because your faith is in Jesus Christ, the God of love, the God of forgiveness, the God of power, the God of wisdom. Your faith is in the God who never stops caring for you. Amen.
