Where is your faith?

Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"

Luke 8:22-25 NASU

A day like any other: Y'shua, the Son of God, lived an extraordinary life. Those who chose to follow him (Luke 8:1-3) to cities and villages to proclaim the Kingdom of God were given the privilege of knowing the mysteries of the kingdom. Mysteries that were riddles spoken in parable to the majority who flocked to hear the popular rabbi speak (Luke 8:10). They were witnesses to the dramatic changes that came to lives as their Lord spoke. More than anyone else in the Galilee, they were exposed to the secrets of the kingdom of God. They did not set roots or sow a crop, but simply followed Y'shua wherever the Spirit led Him. An amazing life became a normal everyday life.

A boat was not an unusual setting for the followers. He had used boats to preach from. He had shown them his power from a boat and for some of them, their eyes began to open in realization that he was unlike anyone else they had ever known. (Luke 5:1-11) On this day, the boat was transportation to the other side of the lake. Perhaps welcome relief from crowds; or maybe from their public persona or a time to think about nothing except getting the boat from the put-in to take-out. On this day, no different than other days, they set out on the lake with experienced boatmen, away from the crowd. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake. . .

This boat trip is the only passage where Y'shua is said to sleep (Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark 4:36-41). I know that my LORD never sleeps (Psalm 121) but the physical body of the man had to sleep. The crisis began as Y'shua slept.

A fierce gale: word study
http://musicofrain.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/luke-823-part-2/

Wind: word study
http://musicofrain.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/luke-823-part-3/

When I first read through this passage I expected that "wind" would be translated from the Greek word pnuma which is translated both wind and spirit. I expected this to be an epic battle between the kingdom of God and the prince of the power of the air. But the word just means moving air. It is moving with ferocity, but it is not a spirit. Paul uses the same word in his letter to the Ephesians to describe different doctrines that toss believers in the Kingdom back and forth. This wind was a fierce one and seemed to be aimed right at them

Descended: word study
http://musicofrain.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/luke-823-part-1/

Perish: word study
http://musicofrain.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/word-study-perish-luke-824/

So often I have read this passage and said with the disciples, . . .He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him. . . and apparently have missed the point. Where is your faith? Too often I have thought that some circumstance would crush me. Where is faith? The Apostle Paul wrote:

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom 8:35-39 NASU

There is no circumstance, there is nothing in all of creation that can separate me from the Love of God, which is in the Messiah. Y'shua absolutely can calm the storm. He apparently is willing to do this for us if we ask, but it will not be long before the next crisis arises. Where is faith? Will we perish and does he care? Those who are IN Y'shua ha Mashiyach (Jesus who is the Christ) will face extreme danger, but never alone (Matthew 28:18-20). The bodies of many will perish as a result. Unless the rapture comes first, all of us will die. But will we live? The Lord lived by faith (standing firm on the Word of God) and when the time was right he entrusted his Spirit to the Father and gave his life for ours. We only die once Hebrews 9:27. Even dying cannot separate us from the Love of God. We get to live every day in abundance.

A former teacher used to say, "Fear and excitement feel the same in the pit of your stomach, you get to decide which one is motivating your response." I often cannot control how I physically feel in response to a circumstance, but I can choose to believe that this physical response is excitement. I am about to see God at work in my life. There is a not so old song, the chorus says, "I have decided I'm gonna live like a believer, turn my back on the deceiver, I'm gonna live like I believe." Where is your faith? What do you believe about your life in Y'shua? Can you live for him in victory? Do you understand that you can walk in victory by faith in the One who overcame everything on your behalf? Live like you believe. And if the Kingdom of God is a mystery hidden in a parable to you, call on Y'shua for salvation, He longs for you!