“(A storm broke out while the disciples were in the boat and the men feared so they woke up Jesus who was sleeping) He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” -Mark 4:39-41
“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:30-31
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?” –Matthew 6:25-31
“Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it (the demon) out?’ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:19-21
Gentlemen, how strong is your faith? The Bible says in Matthew 17 as Jesus was talking to his disciples about why they couldn’t get the task at hand done, he told them in so many words, “Men, your faith is too small!” What if we took Jesus’ words at face value and actually believed what he said he will do on our behalf if we will activate our faith in the area of the answers we seek? Why do we limit our faith of God’s all consuming power? Why do we box ourselves in instead of realize how big the God we serve really is?
The passage in Matthew 6 tells us that we don’t have to worry about our life because worrying is useless. God takes care of his children. No, this doesn’t mean we as Christians are exempt from bad things happening to us but it does mean that God holds us tightly in his hands and will work out his will in our lives. Nothing happens to us that God doesn’t allow or control. He has a good plan even in the bad things that happen to us when we don’t understand why it is happening. He can still use it for good! I once heard the saying that said, “Worry is temporary atheism.” That may be a little intense but it does make you stop and think about how strong our faith and trust in God is when we encounter life’s struggles.
When life’s storms rage and bad things arise in your life, you have a choice to focus on the storm’s waves and wind like the disciples did in the passage in Mark 4 or look to the Source who controls the storm. You can limit your faith by focusing on the bad of the present challenge or you can choose to rise above like an eagle and trust God to work through it according to his will. Guys, just look to God and ask him what he wants you to learn while you go through the current challenge so you don’t have to repeat the same lesson again later on in life. Every tough challenge is a learning experience. Whatever you do though, choose to activate your faith completely on God and not the problem. Put all your hope in the Lord and watch him turn a hairy situation into something great. Simply trust and look to him to work it out.
When the winds and rain of life arise, choose to soar above the storm like the eagle by looking to the One who controls it all.
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