Change your faith location
This morning, I looked out the window and saw a thin layer of snow blanketing our front lawn. Being that snow is one of my favorite things, especially in winter around Christmastime, I smiled as I headed into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.
All was quiet on our street. Everyone in the Hobbs household was still snugly in bed. The lights from the Christmas tree flickered, casting soft shadows on the living room walls. All felt peaceful and calm, as I reflected on how much I love this time of year that we set aside to formally celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It is the season when we join with the chorus of the heavenly host to worship Him, singing, “Peace on earth and goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14).
Peaceful seasons are amazing. I don’t personally know a single person who prefers turbulence over calm. That’s why it is understandable that the disciples panicked in Luke 8:22-25 when a violent storm arose as they were in the boat traveling with Jesus. The Savior, exhausted and unable to stay alert, fell fast asleep.
Verse 23 tells us, “A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.”
Many of us who have read this story multiple times know that Jesus woke up, rebuked the storm, and it calmed down immediately. He then asked His disciples, “Where is your faith?”
Today, I ask you, where is your faith? Is it in the storm or in the One who calms it?
“Is your faith in the storm or in the One who has the power to calm it? Your answer to this question determines your response to the storm.”
Friend, where your faith lies determines how you go through the storm. Whether you panic or remain composed, collapse or stay confident that the Almighty is onboard with you and will command the storm to cease, depends on your faith location.
Where is your faith?
I want to point out that, often, when we review this biblical account, we focus on the fact that Jesus was on the boat and proceed to chide the disciples for being fearful. But we fail to focus on the fact that Scripture says they were indeed in great danger. They were stuck in a perilous situation. Their lives were being threatened. This was not a false fear; the storm was not a figment of their imagination. Death was imminent if not for Christ’s intervention.
Furthermore, we sometimes miss that the disciples had not yet come to the realization that Jesus, the Messiah, had power to calm the storm. He had not yet displayed the full magnitude of His power, and it was only through this storm that Christ peeled back another layer of who He was. Thus, the disciples’ totally understandable reaction in verse 25 after Jesus commanded the storm to stop and it obeyed. That verse says, “In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’”
On the other hand, unlike the disciples who were ignorant of Christ’s power over nature at that time, you and I are without excuse. We are fully aware of the scope of the Lord’s power. We know that He has dominion over all things and has also given us power to overcome through Him.
So then, being armed with this knowledge that the disciples did not have in Luke 8, today, we are better equipped than they were to properly respond to the storm. Instead of panicking, we look to Jesus knowing that all He must do is speak a word, and the storm must cease.
He has power over nature. Power over disease. Power over the forces of darkness. Power over whatever comes against you. The question, then, is, where does your faith lie? In the storm or in the One who has power over it? You already know what God can do; it’s up to you to trust Him to do it.
Right now, wherever you are, lift both hands up and say, “I trust You Lord.”
Ah, yes. For, it is in the trusting that you will find the blessing. Faith unlocks and activates God’s power! Today, as I feel led by God to do so, I’m stirring the question Jesus posed to the disciples in Luke 8:25 into your cup of inspiration.
He simply asked, “Where is your faith?”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, if you have been worrying, stressing, and panicking, that is an inappropriate response to the storm. God is admonishing you to change your faith location, because you have placed it in the wrong thing. If you place more faith in the power of the storm than the power of God to calm it, you will be stressed. But when you remember that you serve the One Isaiah 9:6 calls “The Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace,” then you can trust Him to speak peace to your storm.
Now let’s pray.
God, thank You for reminding me that Your power is greater than the power of the storm. When I am going through hard things, please help me shift my focus away from the problem and put all my faith in You, the problem-solver, for Whom nothing is too hard. In the name of Jesus Christ my Savior and Redeemer I pray, Amen.
If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
