|
Listen to this devotional: |
Listen while you read: "Search Me, O God"1
(Lyrics) |
Matthew 14:30-32 – But when [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. (NIV)
What is faith? It comes at various times in our lives easily, and at other times in a wave of doubt. For me, right now, as our sons are becoming young men, I seem to be finding myself in the waves of doubt:
- Watching our sons and two of their friends leave for two days to an Acquire the Fire gathering, taking the car on a one-and-three-quarter-hour journey.
- Praying for their safety and for use of the common sense that we have hopefully instilled during their growing up.
- Praying for the salvation of one of their friends.
Faith is knowing that the prayer has been heard and answered according to God's will.
Time after time, if we turn to Jesus, He knows just what to give us to calm those fears and doubts.
In the Bible, we find people who prayed in faith, believing God to provide for their every need. How come then do we seem to have it in our heads that we can provide for all our own needs? Is our faith somehow different now than it was back then? Have we become complacent in our walk with the Lord? At times I fear this is true.
Many times in the Gospel accounts, we read about the healings that Jesus did. The people were healed because of their faith — not because of what they had or what they did — but through their faith.
The following verse is a great one to put into the deep areas of our hearts for the times of doubt that will come our way.
Matthew 21:21 – So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done." (NKJV)
Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank You for the amazing promises of the Bible that we can embrace in times of doubt and fear. Thank You that You promise to meet us wherever we are. Help us to instill Your love and promises into the lives of others who do not know Your love for each of us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Forward this devotional Share on Facebook
About the author:
Julie Bowles <julieanni@rogers.com>
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Send your feedback to the author
Our Faith in Jesus our Saviour gives us Peace and Hope for today and tomorrow.
Hello Julie
Thank you for this powerful message, when we have faith and it is God’s will it is amazing what can happen.
Blessings.
Dear Julie Bowles,
For most of my life, I knew that I always had hope, lots of it, but not faith, because I used to pray and always doubted that my prayers would be answered. As a result, I was always in a state of worry. In fact, I used to describe myself as not happy unless I was worried about something.
But one morning, several years ago, in an instant that changed. I was in my basement, switching through TV channels, trying to find a music video to exercise to, and came upon a faith based channel, that hosts programs from different faiths and different Christian denominations. That particular time of day, it was a Catholic program and as I was just about to the change the channel, I paused, because the topic was about faith.
The host of the program asked this simple question: “How do you know if you have faith?”
And he continued: “Do you worry?” Are you frequently worried about things?, Then you do not have faith. Because when you worry, you are actually telling God that He cannot help you. That He is not capable of taking care of your needs.”
That was it! Right there. That was me, worrying and telling God that He could not help me.
That changed my attitude instantly because I knew how great God was and that nothing was impossible for Him. That was when I really received my gift of faith and I have stopped worrying about things since because I know that God is in Control and I need not worry.
Thanks,
(Ontario)