I would love to be able to wave a magic wand and make everything better for everyone...But it doesn't work that way. The Christian life doesn't include any magic wands for us. There are no guarantees that this life will be easy or that we won't have difficult things to deal with. Quite the opposite, we are told that in this world we will have tribulation. What we are promised is that Jesus will be with us every step of the way. He will lead us and guide us. He will teach us and comfort us. Our goal is to have faith, to serve Him, to lift up His name, and to learn from this short journey. We must open ourselves up to His truth so that we can learn from Him. He offers us peace in the midst of the storms of life. He offers us hope in the midst of the trials. You see, if there is one thing that we need to learn, it is this: this life is not all about us. It's all about Him. This seems to be the most difficult lesson for us to learn because in our own books, it is all about us. But in the Book of Life, where our names are hopefully written (if we have confessed our sin and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior!), the story is His.
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11:29 (KJV)
"One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, 'Let us go across to the other side of the lake.' So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, 'Master, Master, we are perishing!' And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, 'Where is your faith?' And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, 'Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?'" Luke 8:22-25 (ESV)
If Jesus asks, "Where is your faith?" what would you answer Him? Do you have faith that even when life is difficult or dangerous, He will still get you through it? Do you trust Him with your life? Or do you blame Him and abandon ship when things don't go the way you think they should? You need to come to the place where you know that without a doubt He is trustworthy. Jesus' question implies action on our parts. We must have faith. The truth is that we frequently have very little. "He replied, 'Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" Matthew 17:20 (NIV) You know how small a mustard seed is, don't you? If you have the tiniest bit of faith, you can move mountains through His power. Nothing will be impossible for you.
"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." John 14:11-13 (NIV) We need to keep in mind that whatever we ask should bring glory to the Father...
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) We can know what faith is and even think that we may have it but unless we walk in it, is it real? "For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NASB) And, "Your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right or to the left.'" Isaiah 30:21 (NASB) There are three components to faith: 1) We must have the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, 2)We must accept that it is true, and 3)We must trust in Him for our salvation. Do you trust Him?
The definition of trust is reliance on and confidence in the truth, worth, reliability, etc., of a person or thing; faith. Likewise, it is a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship. Faith and Trust are inextricably linked. I think the reason that we may not trust Him is that we are afraid of the end of this life and the uncertainty of how that will happen. We ask, "How will it end? When will it end? Why will it end?" Billy Graham said, "We cannot truly face life until we face the fact that it will be taken away from us." And once we face the fact that this life is temporary and very brief, we can be free to live a life of faith in Him. As it says in Psalm 39:5, "Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah." (NIV) We can walk a true walk of faith because we have let go of the "what if's" of this life. This requires practical thinking. It requires the release of our own control (of which we have none anyway!) and the acquisition of true faith. As George MacDonald said, "We can walk without fear, full of hope and courage and strength... waiting for the endless good which God is always giving as fast as He can get us to take it in."
Dear Lord, Please help us to know how brief this life is and that the only way to live it in peace is through faith in You. Give us true faith and help us to place all our trust in You. Teach us to take in Your endless good and walk in faith without fear...
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