“Then Jesus asked them, ‘Where is your faith?’ And they were filled with are and amazement. They said to one another, ‘Who is this man, that even the winds and waves obey Him?’”
- Luke 8:25
Life, after we have prayed the prayer and decided to follow Jesus, is so weird! Depending on the kind of church you made that decision in and who you have around you even impact what that turns into. For some, life after can be filled with different rules and regulations, though unintentional, it can become legalistic and hold one to the wrong idea of perfection. Others wind up resorting back to old habits because as long as you believe then you are saved, right? It’s a mess and often we run into mistaken beliefs and false ideas. We may know we are supposed to grow in Christlikeness but often we have no clue what that means. In all of it though, we frequently believe we cannot question faith and any form of doubt is to be hidden and tossed aside.
I want to say that doubt is okay. The Disciples frequently seemed to encounter it, from their early stages of following Jesus to the day of Jesus’ arrest. Their faith journeys were messy and it's okay if ours are as well, but the goal remains the same, following Christ and abiding in Him.
Who is He?
We might assume we know who Jesus is. He is Lord, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Word, our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend. He is the Bread of Life, the Living Water, and Good Shepherd. All those are accurate titles, and we know them to be true but even if we know the truth, we can still encounter moments of doubt because our experience of reality does not always match up with the truth. But rest assured, Jesus, gives grace for this.
After many chapters of calling disciples, performing miracles, and teaching about the Kingdom of God, Jesus and His disciples hop in a boat to cross the sea of Galilee. Now, these men have all been on these boats before. Some of them have experienced sailors on this sea their entire lives as fishermen. They surely have seen their fair share of storms and spent long nights on these boats before, but this time it was different. They believed they were going to drown and feared for their lives, the winds and the rains overwhelmed them. The waves were thrashing their boat in frightening ways.
Jesus was there with them, fast asleep, just chilling with no fear or anxiety about the boat capsizing. With everything they had witnessed you would think if we want to approach this purely from a rational standpoint, that these disciples would know they were safe because they were with Jesus. The man who talks about God’s Kingdom, who no doubt has told them about His 40 days in the desert, who have performed miracle after miracle in front of them and yet they doubt their safety at this point. I have heard numerous sermons and Christians speak poorly of the disciples here, but I have no doubt any one of us would be responding the same way, often in our own lives, we do respond how they did. Anxiety was driving them at that moment, fear their knee jerk response.
They go over to wake up Jesus, Jesus with His words command the storm to stop, and the disciples grow calm and amazed, “Who is this man?”
Doubt:
While Jesus would always prefer us to have full faith in Him 24/7, we know we all struggle with that at times. We struggle to show faith in our lived realities and in the most concrete of ways.
Here’s a general circumstance we can all relate to, the election. What does it look like to show faith in the election season? Does it mean making a Biblical argument for your candidate to win? Does it mean complaining about fraud? Does it mean protest and anger? Does it mean a celebration? Does it mean demonizing an “other” side? What does it mean?
I honestly do not have a clear and easy answer. But I believe faith looks like trusting that regardless of the outcomes that God’s going to look out for His faithful ones. We do not need to revolt or celebrate, for we follow Jesus first and foremost. We can disagree with a candidate, party, or entire system of government, that is fine, but if these times feel like the waves and winds then can we pause and see that Jesus is sleeping? He remained unaffected.
Living with doubt is okay, but do not let it control your faith journey, it is but a part of a season of it. I believe we will all go through periods of the doubt to sharpen and strengthen our faith in Jesus in ways that the calm could not. Doubt can bring about greater reverence for Christ.
So, if you see a brother or sister struggling with a season of doubt, don’t tell them to get over it or say it will pass, who is that going to help? Encourage them in faith by going through that season with them in grace and patience. Remind them of who they are in Christ and the kinds of callings God has for them in life: callings to rest and to the mission.
Doubt is an okay thing to feel, so as long as it does not define you.
The very men in this story asked, “Who is this man?” Are the very men who would travel the known world to share the Gospel that Jesus taught. Some to Rome, others to Africa, some around Eurasia, and one even toward India! All to proclaim Good News about a man they followed, even in a season of doubtful faith.
Final Blessing:
A season of doubtful faith will be okay. Sometimes that doubt is induced by what is happening around us, or how other Christians start treating us or other people, but we must not let that doubt define us or how we look at and come to know Christ.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breath, and every heartbeat of your journey!
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