Devotional: Where Is Your Faith?

“Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭8:22-25‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Have you ever felt like life was just too overwhelming?  Have felt like you just can't take any more?  Are you feeling like your boat is being swamped and about to sink?  That's how the disciples felt.  And yet, here is Jesus in the middle of it all, peacefully sleeping!  How could He?!

I believe Jesus was testing their faith.  He may have been resting and even asleep in the boat, but being God in the flesh, I believe He was well aware of what was going on.  The point is, He was in the boat with them during all this mayhem.  They really had no need to freak out if their faith was strong in Him.

And so it is with us.  We may not see or feel that God is actively involved in the mayhem that has come upon us.  We may even wonder if God is asleep somewhere!  But remember He is in the boat with us and He is aware of everything that is going on. He has the power to stop the storm if He so chooses, or He may choose the let the storm rage and calm us in the midst of it so that we will cling to Him more.

So the question to ask when we freak out and panic is this:  Where is your faith?  It can be taken as a rebuke or it can simply be a question of inventory...where is your faith?  Are you putting your faith more in your own ability to slog through the problems or are you putting your faith in God for wisdom and strength?  Are you remembering to get alone to pray as Jesus did when things got crazy?

Wow.  This really speaks to me.  These are things I often forget and I need to remember!