Where Is Your Faith?
Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he
went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And
they launched forth.
But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came
down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came
to him, and awoke him,
saying, Master, master, we perish.
Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they
ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your
faith? And they
being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What
manner of man is this! for he commandeth
even the winds and water, and they obey him. Lk. 8:
22-25
The disciples were observing
and listening to the natural conditions around them, the ways of the world. Jesus had said, “Let’s go over to the other side.”
To point out to them that they were listening more to the ways of the world
instead of the Word of God, Jesus asked them, “Where is your faith?”
The T.V. is going. A commercial comes on. A
cheerful and convincing voice from a nice looking person sincerely affirms to
us saying:
“Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one
to his own way; and
the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah
53:5-7. You can put your trust in God’s Word. Jesus took all your mental and
physical sicknesses upon himself. When you take
him, you get sure and complete relief every time,
with no negative side effects.
With music fitting for each scene, the
commercial shows a person who was sick and downcast, and after taking the Word,
they are now seen whole, happy, and healthy, enjoying life to the fullest. Variations
of this commercial play about 6 times an hour, and in the course of the evening,
you have viewed and heard it about 24 times. Do you know what this would do for
you? It would build your faith up in the Word of God that it will make you
whole as you take it for yourself. With your faith built up by hearing it repeatedly,
you start taking the Word and you receive your healing. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Instead
of the Word, we get a constant barrage of medical commercials that preaches that
if you just take this product or that product, everything will be OK.
So,
where is your faith? It is being grounded in the ways of the world, not the
Word of God. This is why I don’t want to hear medical commercials. Praise God
for doctors and medicine, but I don’t want my faith to be grounded in the ways
of the world. I want my faith to be grounded in the Word of God. Faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the Word (Romans 10:17). If you are hearing and hearing the
ways of the world, that’s where your faith is. If you are hearing and hearing the
Word of God, that’s where your faith is.
In every area of life this same
principle works. We can either hear and meditate on
the world’s ways of operation and accomplishment, or we can hear and meditate
on the Word’s way of operation and accomplishment.
Trust in the
LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight
thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy
way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall
bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the
LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from
anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise
to do evil.
For
evildoers shall be cut off:
but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall
inherit the earth.
Which
do you want? What are you going to do about it? The choice is yours, it’s up to
you.
Let’s
not sink in the storms of life. Let’s keep our focus on the Word of God and go
over to the other side!