Where is your faith?
Luke 8:22-25 – One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
I went into the loft last month and swapped my winter coats for my summer jackets. Would you believe it. They’ve shrunk. I think it’s the damp environment that causes the lining to whither! Honestly, it has nothing to do with any weight gain over the winter! Anyway, I was trying on this particular jacket and I put my hand into my inside pocket and pulled out a £20. I was thrilled. I called Ally…made her come running upstairs. She climbed the ladder and poked her head through the attic door and found me grinning , like a Cheshire Cat! “Look, I’ve found a £20 in my jacket!”
Her response was not exactly as optimistic as I was hoping for! She rolled her eyes and said: “Did you make me run upstairs just for that? I thought you’d had an accident!” She then eyed me up and down and asked “has that jacket shrunk in the loft?” But here’s the point. Who’s £20 was it? Mine. Exactly.
At some point last summer, I went to the cash point, withdrew the cash, put it in my pocket and went out to the party. I just forgot I had it. It took a change of thinking to explore those pockets again to rediscover what I already had!
And that is Jesus’ point.
He didn’t say, you have no faith
He didn’t say, you lack faith
He didn’t ask, how big is your faith?
He asked, where is your faith?
He simply asked them why they didn’t they reach into their discipleship experience and pull out their faith? Because they already had it. They were there when He healed the leper. They were there when he opened the eyes of the blind. They were there when he fed the 5000. For goodness sake, they gave up their livelihoods to follow Jesus. They had faith. But in the panic, they forgot where they put it!
You don’t need more faith
You don’t need someone else’s faith
You just need faith
Your faith
Whether you consider it to be the size of a mustard seed (Luke 17:5-6) or a custard tart, for that matter, its perfectly formed within you already. It’s yours to choose to use. Or not.
Faith is deliberate action. Intentionally activating heavens resource for the purpose Jesus intended for you. But It will only grow if planted! The sowing dictates the activation of potential!
Ps Simon Jarvis
