Mensa Otabil - How Faith Works
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Well, this week, as you notice, we’ve been talking about faith, so we go to Luke chapter 8, verses 24 and 25. And they came to him, awoke him, saying, «Master, Master, we are perishing!» Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was a calm. But he said to them, «Where is your faith?» And they were afraid and marveled, saying to one another, «Who can this be? For he commands even the winds and water, and they obey him.»
The disciples of Jesus were caught in a storm, and in the process, Jesus was asleep in the same boat they found themselves in. He was demonstrating how faith works to them, but the disciples were not bothered about operating in faith; they were in crisis mode. So, they were trying to bail out the boat, panning out water, and things were getting bad. Eventually, they woke up Jesus, and Jesus just rebuked the storm, then asked them a very important question: «Where is your faith?» It’s an important question, and I believe it’s one we must also ask ourselves: «Where is my faith when I’m going through a crisis? Where is my faith when life hits me very hard? Where is my faith?»
Why did Jesus ask this question? Because our faith can be abundant; it’s possible to have faith and not use it. It’s possible to have faith and abandon it, and it happens very frequently when the storms of life overwhelm us. When we’re going through a crisis and we’re in panic mode, all of a sudden, we forget everything we know about God, about his faithfulness, about the word of God, about our faith, about what we’ve heard. The crisis drives everything, and that’s what is happening to the disciples. They are men of faith; they’ve been with Jesus and seen how he deals with issues. But when they find themselves in a crisis, they abandon their faith, and I hope you don’t do that. When you get into a crisis, don’t forget that there is a Bible you read, a God who answers prayer, and prayer that you do. We have to use our faith in crisis moments, so don’t abandon your faith.
But Jesus was also demonstrating something: that his faith was in the Father, and so faith rests in God. How did Jesus demonstrate that? By being calm in the storm. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be concerned or think; don’t be aloof. You have to rest in the Lord, trust in him, and have peace in him. Jesus had so much peace in the Father that he was asleep, and he’s telling us how we should also behave when we’re going through a crisis moment. Don’t get all worked up, running helter-skelter, complicating your own problems, screaming, shouting, telling everybody about your problem, trying to get help from everyone while people insult you in the process. Learn to trust in God. Rest in the Lord, take it easy; God is in control. Trust him.
And I don’t mean just fold your arms and do nothing but truly trust God. There is a way in which our trust in God translates into the way we behave. When we trust in God, we are at rest and at peace, and that’s what Jesus was telling us. The third thing we learn from this encounter is that faith works at all times. Why do I say that? While Jesus was asleep, his faith was awake. God doesn’t just abandon us when we’re asleep; our faith doesn’t elude us when we’re asleep. Our faith works whether we are asleep or awake, whether we’re in a storm or in a calm environment, whether it’s night or day.
Faith works at all times. There are some people who believe that there are certain times of the night they must wake up and pray. It’s okay to wake up and pray, but if you’re waking up to pray because you believe you must keep watch over yourself, then you don’t trust God. For he who keeps us neither slumbers nor sleeps. If you trust God, you rest in him and remain calm in him.
Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, my faith is fully rested in you. I command every storm to be stilled in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.»