Faith

And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us
pass over unto the other side.
And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him
even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little
ships.
And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves
beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow:
and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, cares thou not that we
perish?
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be
still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that
ye have no faith?
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of
man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Mark 4:35-41

This passage of scripture really hit me in the heart when I read it on Sunday. The reason it hit me so hard, is because it is something that I have struggled with. And it is faith.

Faith, used to be some "strange mysterious thing" to me. It seemed some had boatloads of it, and others, like me, really struggled with having "enough".

Preachers (at least in my circles) also don't help it out. I have heard this story preached so many times in the past. It was put on the shelf of "those dumb disciples" kind of thing. Like they should know better! They didn't have "enough" faith

Well, the Holy Spirit taught me something totally different; causing faith and confidence to arise in my heart towards Jesus.

Jesus said to them, "Why are you so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"
He asked them why they had "no" faith. Not "enough" faith.

So that caused me to go back and read the context:

vs 35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

Jesus said, that they were going to go to the other side. He said it. But they didn't believe him, which is why they had "no faith".

They didn't believe him for good reasons, truly. A huge storm had come upon them, they were taking in water, and Jesus was asleep on the boat. If Jesus had not been the Son of God, and any other sinful human being, they were dead.

But Jesus was not a sinful human being, and he was the son of God, and he told them that they they were going to the other side. And they did not believe him.

That is why they asked him "carest thou not that we perish?" I don't think they were asking him because they were mad at him for not performing a miracle. They were kind of amazed that he was sleeping through this storm I think. How could anyone sleep through that type of storm in a ship?!?

So when Jesus arose, he stopped the storm, and that is why he asked them why they had no faith. He had been performing all sorts of miracles, and he had *TOLD* them that they were going to the other side.

They didn't believe his "word". His word, being, They were going to pass over to the other side. Jesus didn't mince his words. What he said was truth. They were going to the other side, no matter what. Even a huge storm, that by all appearances, looked like it was going to kill them. But this was God in the flesh speaking. He said they were going over to the other side.

So what did this teach me? Despite my circumstances in life. If my "storms" look exactly opposite of what God said in his Word, don't believe the "storm" believe the Word of God.

Faith isn't blind. Jesus gave the disciples "something to hold to". His Word. He said they were going to pass over to the other side. That is why he chided them for having no faith. It wasn't up to their faith to get them to the other side. They got to the other side despite their lack of faith.

Why? Because Jesus said they were going to pass over to the other side. Jesus doesn't go back on his word. If they had had faith, it would of made the journey less stressful during the storm. Maybe even adventuristic. Or perhaps fun? But Jesus kept his Word even though they didn't have faith.

And I believe he stopped the storm to show the disciples that their faith wasn't in Jesus. It wasn't that they didn't have *enough* faith. They just plain old didn't believe Jesus at all. Otherwise, they would of not been upset with him for sleeping in the boat.

So this teaches me. I can believe Jesus, and what the Bible says, "NO MATTER WHAT" is going on in my life. If my feelings, or my circumstance are going completely against what Jesus said, I am not going to believe it. Even if it seems God is asleep, I am going to believe what Jesus said is true, because Jesus doesn't lie. Jesus has proven he has not lied at all in his Word. So in my own life he won't lie either.

That is why this story built faith in me. It showed me that faith isn't a mystical thing that we have or don't have. It is a decision to believe what Jesus says is true despite what is happening around us, that looks like it proves his Word as wrong. If he is God, (and he is) then what he says will happen, no matter what!

That is what I believe the point of this passage is. Not that the disciples were "dumb" but that they chose to look at the circumstances going on, instead of holding fast to what Jesus had said. And even though they had no faith, Jesus still kept his word. He didn't lie. :) So that too shows me he is trustworthy.

Faith isn't some hard thing to grasp hold of. It is just choosing to believe God no matter what. :)