Where Is Your Faith?

Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?” I believe this is the same question the Lord would like to ask us today. Where is your faith? Where or what do you put your trust in? In yourself – your own wisdom and strength? Your career? Your family?

No human being can live without faith in someone or something. The difference between the Christian and non-Christian is not that one has faith and the other does not. They both have faith. The difference between the two is the object of their faith. One believes in himself and trusts in his or her own efforts. The Christian put his or her faith in Jesus Christ and trust in a God who cares for him and is there to guide him. Therefore the Christian life, from start to finish, is a journey of faith.

Heb 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

(1) PUT YOUR TRUST IN GOD

Today many people would rather believe the advertisements they see or hear about than believe what the Word of God says. They would rather believe the drug peddlers who offer a cure for their illness than believe the Word of God. It really appears that people are prepared to believe everything they read about in the magazines, and not the Word of God. It takes more effort to believe the Bible, than the stuff they read about on the internet.

It is only when we believe the Word of God and act on it that it becomes a reality in our lives. It is this faith that enables us to overcome storms we face in life because Jesus Christ is the Lord of the life.

There is nobody in the world that will not face a problem during his or her life. But we can prepare for these trying times by listening to God’s Word and trusting Him to fulfill His promise. And each time this happens, we will know that He is real and He can be trusted.

Jesus faced many challenges in His life but He was always the victor. He has complete trust in God. In the Bible account that we read today, Jesus gave His disciples a command - also a word of promise - to go to the other side of the lake. As the ship left Capernaum, Jesus who was weary, went to sleep. While Jesus slept a storm came up and the disciples, who were seasoned fishermen, were afraid. Jesus just kept on sleeping through the storm confident that His Father was completely in control. The disciples on the other hand were so frightened that they awakened Him and begged Him to rescue them.

When we look at Jesus’ response (v.25): “Where is your faith?” we know then that the real problem was not the storm but the disciples’ unbelief. Actually their unbelief was more dangerous than the storm. Without faith in God, they were left to fend for themselves. Life eventually will reach a hopeless end.

Every one, whether a Christian or not, will face some form of challenges during his or her life. Bro/sis, how you deal with the storm is of crucial importance. Jesus saw things the right way. Although the storm looked daunting, He wasn’t. WHY? He saw something else. There is a power greater than the powers of the wind and waves. The disciples looked around and all they could see was danger. They looked within and what they could see was fear. But they failed to look up - by faith trust the God who controls the wind and the waves.

But very often, our response to the problems of life is not that of faith but fear. Fear is the natural reaction we have when we feel we are losing control – when things are not moving according to plan, you’re unable to cope with the work or demands of life, or you needed help but find none. When fear takes over, it prevents us from dealing with the actual problem. Even before we address the difficulty, fear has already crippled you.

The real issue is not with the problem, it is with fear. If the Bible says in Phil 4:13 “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength”, then the real issue is with fear. We are paralyzed by fear. If we truly trust Him, we can find in God the strength and wisdom we need to overcome.

This is the second lesson we learn -

(2) DO NOT LET FEAR PARALYZE US

We could have prayed and see God’s great work, but we were paralyzed by fear. We could have been bold and courageous, and step into the Promised Land (or experienced what God has promised us), but we were paralyzed by fear. We did not move, we did not do anything, because we were overcome by fears. The problem is not the real problem, our fear is.