A New Devotion - The Power of Faith

Here's a new devotion that I wrote. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.

Matthew 8:18-27

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

The Power of Faith

I believe some Christians have made a wrong assumption about faith in Jesus Christ. You see, they assume that when you believe and go through whatever process your particular group demands to join God’s team, your life certainly becomes easier if not easy. For example, where others have to struggle with fear and doubt, you now experience only certainty and confidence. And as the rest of humanity is forced to deal with health and financial issues, you’re teleported through life, enabling you to avoid all the gristle as you eat the steak. And while every other person learns to live with disappointments and unfairness, God puts his finger on the scale of justice in your favor;  therefore, you’re given a divine “get out of jail free” card that can be used anytime, anywhere. I believe this is the perspective that a lot of Christian have about faith, because that’s exactly what they’ve been taught by those who believe that winning converts is a game.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s a real shame, and not just because it’s not true and those who buy what was sold end up disappointed. You see, when we think that following Jesus is a cake walk, we’re only deluding ourselves. No, being a Christian means sacrifice and self-denial. And it involves putting the needs of others before our own wants. And often it results in people treating us like we’re a bunch of patsies, because rest of the world believes that true strength is shown by arrogance, not humility. Simply put, faith is not the ticket to an easier life. And that’s actually good, because it offers so much more. You see, as our trust in God and Christ and the Spirit grows, so does our ability to see past the fear and doubt we might be feeling. It enables us to feel confident as we plow through life’s problems and hope as face disappointments and injustice. You see, rather lifting us over, our trust gives us the strength to endure the storms. And that’s the true power of faith.