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Tuesday, September 20, 2016

 

In fitness, there is a saying; if there is no pain, there is no gain. The same is true concerning your relationships and in every area of your life; there are no gains without sacrifices. Likewise, in the spiritual realm, if you want to have a faith that is mature, you will not achieve any gains without sacrifices. Nothing honors our Heavenly Father more than men and women who are mature in their faith and who actually believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He promised to do. Nothing has greater potential to grow your faith than do the difficulties of life.

 

On one occasion, Jesus was ministering to thousands of people in the middle of nowhere. As evening approached, His disciples reminded Him that it was late, the people had not eaten and there was no place to purchase food. Jesus did not send them away hungry. With five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus fed five thousand men plus women and children and collected twelve baskets full of leftovers.

 

After feeding the crowd, Jesus sent His disciples to cross over to the other side on a boat. I can almost imagine the conversations between the disciples, they surely reflected on the miracle of feeding the crowd. I can also imagine them           discussing how each of them had a basket full of leftovers. Then suddenly they found themselves in the middle of a storm so fierce they were sure they were about to die. Wonder suddenly turned into fear. I would wager that at that precise moment, they could care less about how many people Jesus fed or how many baskets they each had. I bet the only thing on their mind was their demise.

 

After fighting all night to stay afloat, just before dawn, Jesus appeared to them walking on the waters. Peter, perhaps out of fear, cried out to Jesus to allow him to walk upon the waters towards Him. Jesus told him to come, and Peter set out upon the raging waters. One, two, three steps into his walk and then he glanced at the storm and Peter began to go under. Immediately Jesus extended his hand and pulled Peter out.

 

Matthew 14:31-33 NIV

 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

 

It is as if, Jesus were showing Peter and the disciples, that the miracle of feeding the crowds did not cause the disciples to worship. Neither did the baskets full of leftovers cause their faith to grow. I was not until Jesus rescued them from the storm that the disciples decided to do something they had never done before. They worshiped Jesus saying, “Truly you are the son of God”; now this is mature faith!

 

This is the lesson from the storm; mature faith is a result of experiencing the trials of life. It is one thing to witness Jesus performing miracles and it is quite another to be at the end of your rope, hopeless, knowing you are about to drown when Jesus suddenly pulls you out. Trust me that will indeed grow your faith.