My dear brothers and sisters, of FaithLine: “Jesus got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “WHY ARE YOU FEARFUL, O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was A GREAT CALM. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?“ (Matt. 8:23-27)
Here Jesus says,“ YOU OF LITTLE FAITH?” In Marks gospel, “How is it that you have NO FAITH?” (Mark 4:40) and in Luke’s account, “WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?” (Luke 8:25) These may appear contradictory; however, when we think about it, they are actually complimentary. The disciples’ faith or trust was in their circumstances (the storm around them) rather than God’s Word. Jesus had already said, “LET US CROSS OVER to the other side of the lake.” (Luke 8:22)—as in, not even a storm will stop them or harm them!!
“O you of little faith” is not that they believed God a little bit. It is not that their trust was a “speck” when it should have been mountain sized. No, rather, they only UNDERSTOOD GOD’S WORD A LITTLE. Instead of holding fast to God’s Word, they looked at their distresses through the eyes of human speculation. Therefore, they had no basis for faith—genuine faith. Doubting God’s Word they trusted in their surroundings and this caused Jesus to be displeased.
FOR NO WORD FROM GOD WILL EVER FAIL…(Luke 1:37)
FaithLine, the bible says: “WHY ARE YOU FEARFUL, O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH?”
-Bill Stockham