AGAINST THE ROPES (eBook)

Tested Faith

If we can have faith in the plane/pilot, the car manufacturer, the chef, and the doctor, then why do so many people struggle with their faith in God? The statistics prove that people are struggling with doubt in God more than ever (according to Barna), and this applies to Christians as well. Doubt isn’t necessarily a “one-size-fits-all” thing, because some might struggle and doubt the very existence of God, while others have full belief in God’s existence, but they doubt that God loves them or has a plan for them. I don’t believe doubt is something that God gets mad at us about, but rather uses it as an opportunity to show that we can always put our faith in Him and trust Him in every situation; however, our faith is often tested the most when we are the most uncertain.

We see this in the story of John the Baptist asking if Jesus is the Messiah or if they should continue to look for someone else (Matthew 11:3). Jesus tells us that John is an amazing, Godly man who had been used in a powerful way, but at this moment John was trapped in prison and couldn’t see what everyone else was watching Jesus do. I believe there was a part of John that genuinely wanted to make sure that Jesus was in fact the Messiah (though the Spirit already affirmed this to him at Jesus’ baptism) so that he could die knowing he did what he needed to do, which was to prepare the way for Jesus. John was in prison and was facing his execution. He probably would have been in a hard place spiritually and emotionally for obvious reasons. Jesus affirms His identity as the Messiah by telling John’s disciples what Jesus was doing, but Jesus adds something at the end of the verse for John to hear, “And he added, ‘God blesses those who do not fall away because of me’” (Matthew 11:6). I love that it says, “He added.” Jesus understood John’s question and He proved He was who He said He was, but Jesus also wanted John (and us) to know that we need to have faith in Him even when our situations don’t meet our expectations.

I’ve watched countless people leave the faith because of their situation not being what they thought it should be, but our faithfulness through the trial proves that our faith is genuine. God understands that we are human and have doubts and questions! With that being said, I do believe the longer we follow Him, He expects us to display more trust in Him and can call us out for our unbelief. We see this with Jesus and the disciples many different times throughout the Gospels. Perhaps one of the most well-known examples of this is when Peter began walking on water.

Matthew 14:24-31 NLT, 24 “Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified.

“In their fear, they cried out, ‘It’s a ghost!’

27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘Take courage. I am here!’

“28 Then Peter called to him, ‘Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.’

“29 ‘Yes, come,’ Jesus said.

“So, Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink.

“‘Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

“31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. ‘You have so little faith,’ Jesus said. ‘Why did you doubt me?’”

There are several things I want to point out here, but first, let’s point out the fact that Peter was literally walking on water. Not water skiing, but actually walking on water. There’s no wonder why this is such a popular story because it’s an incredible one! When I first read the story, I felt a little sorry for Peter for getting called out because, after all, he was the only one who got out of the boat. The other disciples stayed back. Jesus calls out his lack of faith and asks him why he would doubt Him. In his defense, this was his first time walking on water, so I think it’s safe to say it’s understandable for him to begin to panic when he saw the wind and the waves. The longer I study this passage, though, the more I understand Jesus’ frustration with Peter.

Jesus had been with His disciples for some time now, and they listened to Him teach about faith, watched Him cure many diseases, cast out evil spirits, and even gave Peter, along with the other disciples, the ability to do the same (Luke 9:6). Right before this miracle, Jesus fed 5,000 men (along with women and children), and there were twelve baskets left over, which was exactly the number of the disciples. This was no coincidence. It was providence. It was Jesus’ way of letting His disciples know that if He asks us to do something then we can have full assurance He will provide every time. If you’re familiar with this story, it begins with the disciples wanting to send the crowd away into the village to buy food to eat, but Jesus tells them that’s not necessary and that they should feed them. Their response is “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” They have a pretty good point! Sure, Jesus had performed miracles and even allowed the disciples to perform some, but this was a BIG deal. However, Jesus performed another amazing miracle yet again.

So, with that in mind, you begin to understand Jesus’ frustration with Peter a little more. What I find the most interesting in this passage is how Peter was fine if he kept his eyes on Jesus, but once his eyes got focused on the wind and waves he began to sink. It’s been preached and written about many times before, but we need a daily reminder: Keep your eyes on Jesus!

I think Jesus got frustrated because he wanted Peter’s trust to increase in Him more because He knew the plans he had for Peter’s life in the future. Peter (the rock) was the spokesperson for the disciples often, and even though he had his failures, God used him in a mighty way on the day of Pentecost and helped start the Christian church. Peter didn’t know this though, and Jesus wanted him to obey His voice now so that way his faith could be built up for him to grow into the leader God wanted him to be. Like Peter, we never know what God has in store for us in the future, but what we do know is what He’s asking from us today. Even though Peter ultimately “failed” the test that day, I believe there was a part of Peter that learned a lot from that experience. After all, he was the only one that got out of the boat! We can be quick to point out his lack of faith, yet many would most likely relate to the other disciples who stayed in the boat.

This story spoke to me as a teenager because I felt like I could relate to Peter (except for the walking on water part, I’ve never done that). After Jesus radically transformed my life and set me free from a troubled past, I felt like I was the one who stepped out of the boat to follow Jesus. I left the crowd behind me, but there were times that I would get overwhelmed with my new walk with Jesus, but He kept helping me out of the water. Like Peter, I’ve had many failures, but I’ve continued to swim back to the boat and have learned to keep my eyes on Jesus more and more each time. As I’m writing this book, I’ve now followed Jesus for fourteen years, and over time, my faith has developed and I experience less doubt than I did before; however, I’ve also learned the longer you follow Jesus, the scarier the obedience might seem. Another way to put it is the longer you follow Jesus, the deeper the waters and the stronger the waves get.

Remember what I said at the beginning of this section; we all put our faith in something or someone, but you have to decide whose voice is the most important. The reality is, that it’s more dangerous to put our faith in things other than God than it is putting it in Him. Sure, it can be scary surrendering your life to God, but how was life going before that decision? It can be scary giving God your career, but what about wondering if what you are doing is the calling He has for you? It can be scary to give your spouse and kids to God, but how much more stressful is it to wear the weight of the pressure that comes with it? You see when we put our faith in God, it’s not burdensome, it’s freeing. God has a track record of being faithful, and His faithfulness in the past gives us faith for the future. However, to see God’s faithfulness in a situation, we must exercise our faith.

For me, it started with putting my faith in God for salvation, having faith that He would be with my family, faith that He would help me with my call to ministry, faith that I wouldn’t die on an airplane going to a ministry event, faith for our church plant, faith for my marriage, faith to be a dad and many other things. The longer I follow Jesus, the more I must look back on and see His faithfulness, but each step requires me to activate my faith. I bet you can relate with my story as well, because Jesus will often call us out of our “boats” to leave the known for the unknown, and this can be scary.

What would you say your boat is? Is Jesus asking you to step out of your boat and have faith that you won’t sink in the waves? It’s scary to do this, but again, not as scary as not doing it. When God called me to ministry, I knew He wanted me to go to...