Do Not Let Circumstances Degrade Your Faith

Friday, January 11, 2019 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

Matthew 8:23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Circumstances have a way of bringing out both the bad and good inside us.

Jesus' disciples were living in the school of life. Everyday they experienced "on the job training." Sometimes they were aware of this fact. At other times, they forgot. On the day when they crossed the lake, they were unaware of another lesson that was underway.

Whenever Jesus gives His followers an assignment, the objective is victory, not defeat. When Jesus said, "Let us go to the other side in this boat," He did not suggest that they would only go halfway before being taken down by a tempest. Of course, the disciples knew this, but the circumstance changed their minds and degraded their faith. The storm was a circumstance that challenged their view of God's plan. They panicked and woke Jesus up. Note that Jesus didn't even wake up during the storm!

They said, "We are perishing!" That's like being hungry between breakfast and dinner while saying, "I'm starving!" Their problem was this: They allowed the circumstance of the tempest to degrade their faith in God. We know that was a test because after Jesus stilled the tempest, He essentially said, "Where is your faith?" 

Jesus expected them (and us today) to do what he did. He expected them to exercise faith in God to handle the situation. It's never wrong to ask Jesus to do something, but don't forget His promise to believers, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." John 14:12

Never underestimate the power of God's grace operating inside of you. Your relationship with Christ is always the basis of your faith. Don't be fearful of your circumstances. Upgrade your faith by exercising faith in every circumstance.