Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” Luke 8:22–25
Socrates may be well known to history for his use of questions in his teaching, but no one was more the master of the style than Jesus. He often made powerful points with the simple yet profound questions He would ask. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” (Mark 3:23). “The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?” (Mark 11:30). “Simon, are you sleeping?” (Mark 14:37). Let’s consider in parts Jesus’ question to His disciples after He stilled this Galilean storm: “Where is your faith?”
Where is your faith? We need to understand that faith is as essential to living spiritually as air is to living physically. Without faith we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6) or be justified in His sight (Romans 1:17; 4:1–5; 5:1). We also need to understand that faith is not merely blind acceptance of something we wish to be true; rather, it is itself the evidence of the unseen (Hebrews 11:1) which is based on that which we have seen of God’s true character in the written Word (Romans 10:17).
Where is your faith? Some put their faith in the wrong place. Some put their faith in their own intellect, expecting that man is perfectly capable of determining right and wrong for himself. Paul says that “the world through wisdom did not know God” (1 Corinthians 1:21). The offspring of human wisdom include divorce, abortion, and drug abuse. Others put their faith in things of this world. The rich young ruler wanted eternal life, but he just couldn’t part will all his baggage (Matthew 19:21–22). Some put their faith in mortal men—parents, preachers, friends, etc. We need to put our faith in none other than Jesus Christ, who alone is “the author and finisher of the faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
Where is your faith? When the Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl 41, the legendary Peyton Manning finally won the coveted ring, but so did his less-than-impressive backup Jim Sorgi, who hadn’t thrown a single pass all season. You might be able to win a Super Bowl ring on someone else’s talent and hard work, but you can’t get to heaven by someone else’s faith. When Paul recalled the unfeigned faith of Timothy’s mother and grandmother, he observed it also in Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5). How did it get there? He didn’t inherit it; he had been taught the Scriptures from his childhood (2 Timothy 3:14–15). We can’t rely on someone else’s faith to justify us before God; we are going to have to develop a faith that is our own.
What about your faith? Is your faith stronger than that of the disciples who feared the storm without realizing that the Creator was in the ship with them? As the storms of life howl about us, we need to remember that the Lord is always with us and that all of Satan’s forces cannot destroy a single hair on our heads (Luke 21:8) as long as Jesus is by our side.