Faith in the One that can move mountain

One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” Luke 8:22-25

Everybody will come to a point in their life that they feel that they are at the end of the rope and they are in an impossible situation. This is the time when we feel that we do not have the resources needed to solve the impossible situation we are in. You feel powerless, your abilities are not enough and you do not have the strength to continue on. If this is the situation that you find yourself facing, what are you going to do? From the text, the disciples encountered a storm that they thought could end their lives. These are men who were familiar navigating in deep waters and yet, when they faced the raging storm they felt inadequate. They realized that with them in the boat is the Lord Jesus Christ. After Jesus calmed and stopped the storm, He asked them, “Where is your faith?” It is very common for people to use the word “faith” very loosely. Such cliché are used referring to people’s faith: “Faith will get you through” or “Keep the faith” as if faith by itself is a god or an entity. But faith without its proper object is useless. There is power in faith because of its object. You can be sincere in expressing that you have faith but if that faith is not focused on God Himself, that faith is meaningless. “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible” (Matthew 17:20). You can have a faith as big as a mustard seed but when it is properly focused in God, it can move mountains. The power is not in how much faith you have but on the object of your faith. It is sad to hear Christians lamenting over their lack of faith, “If I only had more faith.” This kind of reasoning paralyzes Christians to act on what God is telling them to do. While it is true that it is important to deepen and strengthen one’s faith, but even our weak faith can become a powerful testimony of God’s deliverance when it is focused on Him. The all-knowing, all-powerful God is telling us that even when faith seemed to be faltering and weak, don’t lose heart instead use it so that God can unleash His power manifested through us. “Anything is possible if a person believes. The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24). It is not your faith that can move mountain but God’s power. “...keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

Blessings,