Matthew 8v23-26
23 And when He got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. 25 And they went and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
‘Doubt is not a sign of no faith; It’s a sign of embattled faith’ John Piper
I believe that if we’re really honest with one another, the majority of us would say that we struggle with the issue of faith.
There can be a number of reasons for this
We are made to feel like we’re inferior Christians if we seem weak in faith.
Maybe life has thrown up some difficult situations and your faith has been knocked in the process.
Jesus had great faith and we are told we should also. Jesus said “You will do even greater things.”
There may be many more reasons. But I think we need to start being real about faith issues. We hear sermons preached about faith. Soundbite after soundbite, cliche after cliche. Out of context scriptures. The Bible pulled apart to emphasise that we need more faith to be successful, to be fruitful, to see more healing etc.
The many of us can become worn out with such preaching and in reality we may need someone to put an arm around us and say ‘it’s ok to struggle, it’s ok if you have doubts’. We all struggle with faith, with doubts at some point and I’m here to say it’s ok. Many characters in the Bible struggled with faith and doubt. From Adam to Abraham. Moses to David, John the Baptist to Peter and Thomas to name but a few. In Hebrews 11 we read a list of men and women who were ‘faithful’ in spite of their weaknesses.
We are all on a journey, one of mountains and valleys. There have been times in my life when I’ve had great faith and times when my faith has wavered. Thankfully God works in spite of my faith and this is where we can be misguided that we need great faith for God to move. Jesus of course talked of mustard seed faith, the smallest of seeds.
At this time of writing I feel my faith is especially weak, however, I haven’t shipwrecked my faith and God remains faithful. My faith may seem as though it is in a war zone but in spite of that, God is working and keeping me.
God seeks after those who will remain faithful to Him however fragile we feel. The word translated faith is 'emunah'. This can be translated faithfulness, integrity, steadfastness. He’s looking for those who will hang on to Him in spite of what they are facing, in spite of their wavering faith.
It’s God’s faithfulness that keeps us if we are faith (ful) even in times of weakness and suffering.
It’s God who gives us strength for today when we hang onto Him in faith (fulness).
It’s God who will keep me until the end if I do not deny Him and remain faith (ful).
Paul Tillich wrote, ‘Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith’.
The disciples, when they were perishing in the storm, in their doubting, cried to the Lord for help. Surely then, there was an element of faith in their little faith, in their doubting. They wanted to remain faithful to Jesus.
In my doubting, in my weakness and suffering, I can still find God. Just as the disciples found Jesus and subsequently found calm and peace. May that be true for you today.
True faith is shaped by trials, suffering, doubt. Allow all these things to grow your faith as we continue to look to His faithfulness.
Prayer - Dear Lord, we thank You that You understand our every weakness. You know our hearts and yet You help us and carry us and rescue us in spite of our little faith. We give You praise that You are indeed our faithful Saviour and Rescuer. Amen
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