A Faithful God

Devotion

9.13.10

A Faithful God

Mark 4:37-41

 

 Living by faith seems like such an easy concept but yet we still find ourselves caught up in fear, doubt and anxiousness / worry.  Well, this is not a new problem.  Jesus spoke to His disciples about this very issue.  In the storms of their lives, just like ours, they too struggled with total faith in a faithful God. Let’s look at the part of the history the disciples when they were faced with a fierce storm while at sea and what they felt and what Jesus said to them. 

 

“And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.  And He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ And being aroused, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still,’ and the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.  And He said to them, ‘Why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith?’  And they became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’” Mark 4:37-41

 

Let’s put ourselves in this situation, but let’s say the storm is not one made by the weather.  The following is an example:

 

 Maria had been working hard fixing up an old house with the hopes of selling it to pay off some debt and to be able to put her children in a Christian school the next year.  The house looked great but the real estate market didn’t.  The bank was becoming restless and had given Maria a deadline for getting the house sold.  She had to sell it or buy herself and there was no way she could afford two house payments.   She was beginning to get very anxious and starting praying asking God for help. 

 

Maria’s mother called to see how things were going. Maria couldn’t hold back her frustration about the house not selling.  “I have to have the house sold by next week mom or the bank wants their money back. We have had so many showings but no one is buying and we have even lowered the price below appraised value.  I don’t know what we are going to do.  I’ve been praying but God doesn’t seem to be helping.”  As Maria’s mother listened she prayed for God’s wisdom to speak to her daughter and then she spoke.  “Maria, God is not going to just let you fall.  He loves you too much.  He has promised you in Philippians 4:19 that He will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. You must believe that He is faithful to His promises.  Do not be of little faith. He is in control sweetheart. Don’t focus on the situation, focus on Jesus. Read Philippians chapter 4 over and over again.  Insert your name.  Read it with boldness and as if you are motivating someone else.  You will find power and peace in God’s word.  Don’t let the enemy weaken your faith by believing that this is a problem. Nothing is too big for God.  I promise you that He will sell the house or place understanding on the banker’s heart.  The buyer is coming, God has provided, but you must believe this in order to see Him at work. When you start to feel the anxiousness coming, you must speak out His word and remind yourself of His promises.  You will soon see the faithfulness of His word in your life.”  Maria thanked her mom for the encouragement and after hanging up she went to her Bible to read Philippians 4.  She prayed and told the Lord she wanted the kind of faith that would be unshakable and that she was going to trust Him with this situation.

 

As the days passed the deadline was upon her and she waited for God to do something.  She kept trying to fight off the anxious feelings, the way her mother had told her, but she still felt the feelings of dread any way.  The final day had come to an end and Maria lay on her bed wondering why God had not answered as her mother had promised.  The next day her mom called to see how things were, Maria said, “Mom, your promise didn’t come true. The house didn’t sell and I have to call the banker.” Her mom could hear the fear in her daughter’s voice and quietly said a prayer. “I know You are faithful Lord I will not let this shake what I know to be true.”  Then she said to Maria, “Look sweetheart it is not my promises you need to be holding on to, it is God’s.  He is not finished with this yet.  You need to keep the faith.”  “I have had faith but look, mom, the house is not sold.” “Oh sweetheart, do not doubt now, that’s what the enemy wants you to do.  God has your buyer. He has answered your prayers and provided for your needs, He just hasn’t revealed it to you yet.  Have you talked to the banker?”  “No” Maria replied, “he wasn’t in the office so I left him a message but he has not called me back.” “Wow that is amazing, perhaps God is distracting him for a time so your house will sell. He works in many different ways you know.”  Maria just sat silent, trying to soak in some of the faith of her mother’s as she listened.  “Maria, God is handling this situation.  You must continue to believe.  He knows how to calm the storm.  Trust Him and let Him show you His faithfulness.  Read Mark 4:32-41 and she what He can do. I will be praying for you.  I love you.”  With those words they hung up.

 

The weekend passed, Monday, Tuesday, no sale and no word from the banker.  Maria was holding on to the rocking boat when suddenly the phone rang, it was the banker.  She finished talking to the banker and called her mother right away. “Mom, I just talked to the banker and he said that he was going to give us another 90 days to sell the house.” “Praise the Lord! He is in control!” her mother replied. As they continued to talk Maria realized that perhaps this whole situation was better than she had thought.  She was going to school to become a realtor and now she would have the time to finish and be able to list and sell her little house herself.  She would double her profits and both of her boys would be able to go to Christian school.

 

You know we don’t always see the whole picture of what God has in store for us but we can be sure that whatever it is, it is better than we can plan for ourselves.  Maria was much like the disciples in the boat.  They were afraid of the storm and felt like Jesus didn’t care.  But Jesus spoke to the storm and told it to shut up and sit down, (my translation) then he said to them very clearly, “Why are you timid (afraid), How is it that you have no faith?”  This is a huge statement.  The Lord wants us to trust Him and not to think that the storm is bigger than He is.  You see when we walk around with a lack of faith in Jesus’ faithfulness we are not truly convinced of who He really is.  This was true of the disciples as well because it said in verse 41, that they became afraid after Jesus calmed the storm because they saw that the wind and the sea obeyed Him.  They asked, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”  You see they didn’t truly understand or believe before the storm that Jesus is God. 

 

The question we each need to ask ourselves is, Do I truly believe that Jesus is God and that He can and will do all He has said He will do?  Our answer to that question is not revealed by a simple answer of yes or no but it is revealed in the storms of our lives when we are faced with the challenges of trusting Him completely to meet our needs, no matter how big or little they may be.  So my dear beloved of God, how will you reply today?

 

Dear Father, I pray for each of my bothers and sisters in Christ, that they will come to a deep understanding and acceptance of Your faithfulness to keep Your promises to us.  I pray they will study Your word and read about the promises You have made us so that they can recall them in times of the storms.  I pray their faith will be unshakable as they walk with You and trust You, knowing without doubt that You are not only God but a faithful God.

 

In Jesus name

Amen