Where Is Your Faith? Series

I love Colossians 3:6-7 in the Living Bible “And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him.”

When I first started training for triathlons about a decade ago, the part that was overwhelming to me was the swimming. The idea of swimming 400 yards in the open water was daunting. I wasn’t afraid of the water, I just wasn’t trained for the test. So, started a regular swimming routine in the pool at LAF, and gradually my skill and endurance prepared me for the test.

This is how faith is built: one day at a time, one prayer at a time, one memorized verse at a time, one journal entry at a time, one witness at a time.

I can’t tell you how many times someone has sought prayer and counsel from me who has gotten into a storm: crumbling marriage, wayward child, life-threatening disease, loss of a loved one—and they are absolutely swamped. Why? They weren’t trained for the test.

Where is your faith in the storms of life? Vv.23-25a (on screen)

The disciples had a test that day and it revealed where their faith was—or more importantly, where their faith wasn’t.

Like the disciples, we say we have faith, that we trust Him, but when the storms of life swamp us, we demonstrate that our faith is weak and powerless.

You know what the storms of life do for us? They reveal where we’ve been placing our faith. If we go through financial failure, that will test where our faith has been: in financial success or Jesus. If we get a ominous report from our physician, that will test where our faith has been: in our health or in Jesus. When we lose a loved one, that will test where our faith has been: in having that person around or having Jesus around.

Now I’m not saying that these tests are easy or simple. In fact, they can be very painful. But the person whose faith is in Jesus meets these tests with hope and courage and faith. Faith that the promises of God are true. Faith that He will be with us in the storms. Faith that He will use this for His glory and our good. Faith that this will all be worth it all when we see Jesus.

Is your faith in the One whose name the waves and wind still know? v.25b (on screen)

The disciples were blown away by the power and authority of Jesus. What’s curious to me, is that already they had listened to Him teach the great lessons that we call the Sermon on the Mount. Already they had seen him multiply loaves and fishes. Already they had witness Him heal the sick and even bring life into a dead body. But when it came to their OWN test, they failed the test.

What is it about us that we keep demanding Jesus to prove Himself? Why is it that we can’t allow His power and faithfulness in the past to qualm our fears about the present and future?

I love this declaration of the disciples: Even the waves and wind obey Him!

Are you in a storm this morning? If not, you will be! Being a Christ-follwoer does not exempt us from the storms and tragedies of life. What it does is prepare us for the test and by His grace gain victory over the test.