Where is Your Faith?

What can I learn about faith from these stories?
What prevents us from having faith in Christ?
FEAR. That is a big one. Yup yup.

Luke chapter 8 starts off with Christ and his disciples sailing on a lake somewhere. A big old storm comes there way, causing their boat to fill with water, and before they know it, appearing as though they will most definitely be sinking. All the while, Christ is asleep. The disciples call out to him and call to his attention that they are about to be toasted by the storm. Christ calmly stands up, rebukes the winds and the waves, until everything is as still as glass. He then turns to his disciples and asks, "Where is your faith?" (25)

This question can lead to so many different answers, and to even more questions. Was he asking his disciples this question to make them feel bad? Was he asking them to be mean? I don't think so. I feel when Christ asks a question, it is a chance for the receiver to learn. To introspect, and to repent (drawing closer to God). Christ's questions aren't meant to belittle, baffle, or throw the honest in heart into despair. When he asks someone a questions who is willing to receive him and follow him, it will be a question that will cause them to turn inward and continue to find ways they can draw closer to Christ.

Some other questions that I thought of as I read his words were: Where is my faith? Is it in Christ? Does it only serve me when I'm in trouble? Do I only turn to him when I'm having a hard time? Or do I only acknowledge his help when things are good? And then as soon as it gets bad, am I angry at him?
Or do I turn to him at all times and in all things and in all places? Do I believe he will help me in his timing? Do I believe he will help others in his timing as well? Do I believe that he has the power to transform anyone's heart, as long as they willingly give it to him? And do I trust that as I let go of what I can't control, he will be the one to calm the storms of life?
Good questions to ponder for sure.

Further in the chapter, Christ encounters a man filled with spirits. The verses mention that this guy had been chained up time and time again, but had always found a way to free himself, and just decided to become wild out in the middle of nowhere. So why was he chained up? From what I gather, people were afraid of the physical harm he could cause, maybe they were even afraid if they tried to help him the spirits would attack them too. Fear kept people from helping him, and created an isolated world for him.

Why wasn't Christ afraid of this man? He understood it was not this man, but the spirits that were causing him to act this way. Christ knew this man's heart, knew his circumstance, and was still able to love him despite how different he was.
After casting out the spirits into the herd of swine, the people in the village were now afraid of Christ. They didn't understand that it was through the power of God he was able to cast out the devils.  Instead of taking time to deepen their understanding, they rejected Christ, like they had rejected the main with the spirits, and were unable to further benefit from Christ's miracles, presence, and teachings.

Pause: What eliminates fear?

• LOVE

• Understanding

What encourages fear?

• Ignorance

• Hate

Fear can lead to anger, mistrust, physically acting out, etc. Fear can be a paralyzer- that's probably why Christ tells us in the scriptures so frequently to "fear not". Giving into fear can prevent us from acting in faith, it can stop us from truly understanding our purpose, and it can isolate us from those who may have similar experiences or who may love us most.
 The last example I'll include occurs at the end of the chapter, with good old Jairus. After learning that his daughter is dead before Christ has had an opportunity to heal her, Jairus begins to despair. Christ replies with: "Fear not, believe only, and she will be made whole."(50)
Christ then proceeds to accompany Jairus to his home, where he performs the wonderful miracle of raising Jairus's daughter from the dead.

So how is each individual's faith linked to the miracles performed in each story? And how did faith/fear impact what happened after the miracle?

I observed that Christ really can't perform any miracles when we are angry or willingly choose to close off from him in any other way. Giving into fearful feelings prevents us from gaining guidance, strength, and comfort from the Holy Ghost, which is supposed to draw us closer to Christ. When we do choose to put our faith in Christ, we are more capable of understanding where others are coming from, more able to reach our full potential and less apt to be controlled by fear.
I sure do love me some Bible stories. Yes indeed :)  I hope you have a lovely week!

Love,
Emily