Have faith in God. How
many times have you heard a preacher or fellow Christian say those words or
something just like them? Just have
faith. Just believe. Just trust.
As a preacher I’ve probably told someone words to that
effect hundreds, if not thousands, of times.
Your loved one is sick? Trust the
Lord. You’ve got bills that you don’t
know how to pay? Have faith in the
Lord. Your teenager is giving you
trouble? Have faith.
These aren’t platitudes we use to try to make each other
feel better, but quite honestly, this is the best advice we can give to each
other. This morning, you may be
struggling with needs. You may be
struggling with issues that no one else knows about. Those secret things that are weighing you
down that you haven’t shared with anyone.
Perhaps it’s a medical diagnosis that you are trying to get your mind
around. Perhaps your marriage is in
trouble. We all face a multitude of
struggles and heartaches every day.
Let me be perfectly honest with you: I struggle with this. When my needs are larger than my resources;
when things are not going according to my plans and my ideas, my faith isn’t
what it ought to be. Wait a minute, you
may be thinking, you’re the preacher!
You’re the pastor! You’re
supposed to have rock solid faith!
True. But so are you!
I was listening to some music the other day. A song played that spoke to my heart. The song was talking about the disciples on the
boat in the middle of the sea and the storm came up and they were afraid. It got so bad, that they thought they were
going to die. Jesus was asleep in the back
of the boat. They woke Him and He calmed the wind and the seas.
As I was listening to this song, I was struck by these
thoughts. First, they weren’t alone. Jesus was with them in the storm. They weren’t facing the storm without
Him. Not only did they have Jesus in the
boat, there were most likely a total of 13 men in that boat—the 12 disciples
and Jesus. They had each other. You may indeed be facing issues of life this
morning, but you’re not the only one in that boat!
Secondly, I was struck by the thought that Jesus was waiting
on them. I can picture in my mind the
disciples running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to figure
out what to do. Peter was probably
mouthing off to James and John; Andrew was asking Phillip what to do; Matthew
was wondering why he ever left the tax collector business. But in the back of the boat was the answer, the solution to their problems. Jesus.
Thirdly, I realized that Jesus wasn’t surprised by the
storm. I’ve read, studied, or preached
from this passage many, many times. I’ve
never had this realization. Jesus didn’t
wake up and say “oh, there’s a storm.
How about that.” No, Jesus awoke
and spoke to the disciples. He didn’t
ask about the storm. He didn’t ask about the boat. He simply stood up and said “Peace, be still.” Then He asked these questions: why are you afraid, and where is your faith.
We can have faith in the Lord during our struggles. No one ever said it would be easy. Having faith is not having storms. Faith is trusting in God in the storms. Don’t let your storms distract you from the
simple fact that God is God, and He is able to provide for your needs. Perhaps, you just need to talk to Him about
those needs and find peace in spite of the storms.
