Where is Your Faith?

walkingonwater

And they came to Him and 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!” (Luke 8:24-25)

You know those times when all life’s troubles and hurdles and temptations seem overwhelming? (Yes, I know I live in the luckiest country in the world.) I think the devil takes great pleasure in piling stuff like that into your mind and watching you panic. Last night, I woke up and this old process began. Like water poured onto sand, it just makes the old furrows (one’s bad thought-habits) grow even deeper.

But then a voice clearly said, “Where is your faith?” That’s not a phrase in Satan’s arsenal of intimidation. It’s like a loving rebuke from your dad.

My point is, I figure that the amount of debate about apostasy — the Protestants’ free grace and the huge number of those who “sin that grace may abound” contrasted with the Catholics who either live in terror because they have committed a “mortal sin” or are tempted to be proud because they haven’t — is simply the direct result of leaving God out of theology. Why do so few ever talk about sanctification by faith? Without the Spirit of God, not only would I have had no desire to become a Christian, but I would be way off the rails by now. Enough talk of apostasy! The Father disciplines those who are His. The Spirit of Peace will give you no peace until you obey. I know this first hand!

When Jesus asks you, “Where is your faith?”, don’t go checking your pockets. Don’t reply, “Hey, I’m sure I left it around here somewhere.” Faith requires an object, and it is in the perfect obedience of Jesus mediated to us by grace. The correct answer is, “My faith is in You, Lord.”

So stop worrying. Quit yourself like a man and rest in the confidence that He will look after you. [1]

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[1] See also, Sleep Like a Man.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 pmand is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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