Faith, part 1

Funny thing. Since I finally accepted my call into ministry I have heard God's voice much more clearly than I ever did before. I've felt called to do a lot of things, and I feel like He very clearly told me to do a series of entires on faith. I've wrriten a lot on faith in the past, and I'm gonna mix that in with stuff I'm writing in the present. I have no idea how long this series will be, and I could potentially put little intermissions on others subjects if it goes on for a while. Faith, however, is an important topic, and now is a good time to dive right into it.

Faith is completely defined by our own ability to believe in the Lord. We can only have complete faith if we fully trust Him. We can only do miracles if we believe we are capable of doing them. A lot is determined by faith, and the aspects of our life that we have faith in will be blessed.

Peter was able to walk on water because he had faith in Christ. He believed he saw Christ on the water as he stood in the safety of the boat. He soon stood in the rough waters, however, and things changed. Matthew 14:30-31 tells us:

“But when he saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

He fell in because he doubted when the storm came. I cannot criticize Peter for this because I have been the same way many times in my life. It is so easy to have faith when we feel safe. It is so easy to believe in all Christ said when we are in a church, or we are alone with God. It is far more difficult to maintain that faith when storms appear in our lives.

These storms can take many forms. We can experience the death of a loved one. We can get sucked into the traps of a sin we thought we’d wiped away long ago. Someone we thought we could trust could betray us. Others could doubt our faith. There are many types of storms, and they can all threaten our faith in Christ.

We can maintain our faith in the face of storms only if we remember what we originally had faith in. If our faith is in Christ it cannot be harmed by man. If our faith is in Christ it is not dependant on our own physical well being. Faith and hope in Christ is beyond all these things, and can maintain us through every storm.

There is no reason to fear the storms in our lives. We will not sink as Peter did if we stay focused in Christ, and remember there is no storm God cannot guide us through. Christ can overcome and tame every storm. Our faith can sustain us throughout them.