No Faith?

February 26

Leviticus 13-14

Psalm 27:1-6

Proverbs 6:20-22

Mark 4:21-41

No Faith?

“He said to His disciples, ‘Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?”  Mark 4:40 NIV

After a long day of teaching, Jesus and His disciples got into boats to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains and is normally very calm, but at night, cool air from the mountains is known to come down and meet the warm air from the sea and violent storms can come up quickly.  This is what happened this particular night.  Jesus was sound asleep below deck and His disciples ran downstairs to wake Him and ask if He didn’t care that they were all going to drown.  Jesus spoke to the wind, and it immediately stopped.   Notice that He did not pray and ask God to stop the storm.  He spoke to the wind Himself and it responded.  He showed the disciples that He was not only someone sent to them by God; He was God.  Only the Creator of the wind and the seas has control over them. He then rebuked them for their lack of faith. 

There are several lessons that can be drawn from this account.  Following Jesus does not mean that we will be free from storms.  Actually, we can be right in the middle of God’s plan for us, on the path, following Him and we can encounter very difficult times.  In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trouble.  The storms we face often expose our lack of faith.  I can certainly relate to this.  I can be going along fine and out of nowhere a storm hits me that is not even as bad as the one the disciples were facing, and I am gripped with fear and dread.  I feel all alone and overwhelmed, and I run to Jesus asking if He is going to let me drown.  My faith is exposed as very weak.  Fortunately, He teaches me another important lesson.  He did not tell the disciples to come back when their faith is stronger and then He would calm the sea.  He calmed the sea and then He showed them their lack of faith.  He used it to teach them more of who He was and helped to increase their faith.  Thankfully, that is also how He responds to me.  He calms my storms, sometimes immediately taking them away and sometimes by calming me so I can face them.  The object of my faith is much more important than the strength of my faith.  He does not help me because my faith is great, and I deserve His help.  He helps me because He loves me.  He is in the process of teaching me to trust Him fully even in the midst of the storm.