By Sue Desmarais
We have been following Jesus now from one hopeless situation to another. We have seen Jesus demonstrate His power,
• over a stormy sea
• a demon-possessed man
• a very sick woman
• And a girl who’s died.
We read these reports in Matthew 8 and we’ll read them again in Luke 8. Through these accounts Jesus proves to all of us that He is more than capable of handling any situation He is faced with.
Jesus merely spoke and a stormy sea suddenly became calm and the wind stopped. At His command a man held captive by the devil was set free. His power instantly healed a woman who had suffered for years. Jesus even proved to have victory over death when He brought a girl back to life by taking her by the hand and commanding her to get up.
Each of these situations proves that Jesus is the Master of the hopeless situation, which is probably why Matthew, Mark and Luke each chose to include them in their letter! We are loved by a Savior who possesses all authority and power, Matt. 28:18; Eph. 3:20. We serve a Lord with whom nothing is impossible, Luke 1:37. Yet there was one key response all those around Him shared during these times that seemed to jump off the page to me this week. Notice:
- When Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, Jesus turned to His disciples and said, “Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?” (4:40)
- When the town’s people saw that Jesus had healed the demon-possessed man the people were afraid of Jesus and begged Him to leave the area.
- When Jesus turns to discover who had touched Him, the woman’s first reaction was one of fear.
- When the synagogue’s leader is told that his daughter has died, Jesus’ first words to him were, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.”
That’s it! In every situation we will face, we will also face the choice to face it with fear or with faith.
Faith and fear cannot exist together. It’s an “either – or” dilemma. Faith is described in Hebrews 11:1 as being “certain of what we do not see.” It is an absolute belief that God is constantly working behind the scenes in every area of our lives, even when there is no tangible evidence to support that fact.
On the other hand fear, simply stated, is unbelief OR weak belief. As unbelief takes over in our thoughts, fear takes hold of our emotions. Our deliverance from fear and worry has got to be based on faith.
We also need to understand that faith is not something that we can produce in ourselves. Faith is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) and is described as a fruit (or characteristic) which is produced in our lives by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The Christian’s faith is a confident assurance in a God who loves us, who knows our thoughts and cares about our deepest needs. The more intimately we know Him, the great our faith in Him will be! These examples can help us to build our faith as we study the Bible and meditate on the attributes of His amazing character allowing these truths to take root and grow in our lives.
BUT it’s also important for us to see Jesus in action in our own lives! The more we learn about God and the more we can see Him working in our lives, the stronger our faith becomes.
None of us, if we’re honest, would ask for trials to come into our lives, but we can trust they will come, for the Lord will use all the means He can to grow us into the likeness of His Son. We also know once we’ve reached heaven and if given the chance to look back we will all agree it was worth it all. Therefore, my prayer today for each of us is that when the trials come we’ll be ready to meet them head on with faith, trusting God to act on our behalf just as He did in the lives of others.
Be blessed today!
Sue