Does Your Faith Itch?
Please read Luke 8:23-25 before continuing.
EVERYTHING in life matters. There are no pointless details, everything is organized to emphasis the point. The setting, the characters, and the storyline. Everything. In fact, everything we know and experience in life is understood through our faith. For the Christian, faith is like our eyes. Through faith we recognize and make sense of the world around us. In a world of change, in which all is shallow, ephemeral, and full of pain, faith is that which stabilizes us. It is through faith that we see what He wants us to see.
The scene is set, Capernaum, Galilee. The place where the Lord will start His ministry which will transform the world. Galilee is where his voice will trampoline out to echo generation after generation. For it is written in Isaiah 9:
The time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. There will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
And that Light is the same light by which we see. For it is written in Pslam 36:
In Your light we see light.
And again, we read of a miracle performed by the man known as God. Here, we read of a moment in history where He reminds us forgetful humans that He possess a power which allows Him to subdue an element which is beyond the reach of any other man. Jesus arises from a calm of sleep known only to those at peace with God. For it is written in Pslam 4:
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.
The voice that is heard across generations, is the voice that humbles the waves. Here, His closest friends and students are met without a moment of preparation. It is moments like this which test a man, what spirit he is of. For it is trials, which reveal the source of your strength. It is trials which is the food our faith lives upon in days of distress.
Such a convicting question to ask in the midst of a trial! Don’t be sensitive now. Premature sensitivity is a weakness which paralyzes the immature and quenches any hope for growth. The same man whose words penetrated nature’s pride, is the same man who turns and looks and asks a question which penetrates the heart. You can feel the urgency and sobriety in His voice. He asks, “Where is your faith?” Is it absent, when it should be present? The circumstance requested it, but it overslept and missed an opportunity to see and become something only created for you. Where is your faith? Who or what is the object of your faith? Has your faith crumbled, once you’ve realized the object of your faith was as helpless as cotton is to prevent a fire? Where is your faith? Faith is the road to experiencing the One known as God! And without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11). If those questions bully you, here is an easier question to answer: what caused you to doubt? I hope this question sinks into your heart and itches you uncontrollably until your faith decides to scratch.
“It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”
