Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”                                                                               He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. (Matthew 8:23-26)

A certain family wanted a good guard dog and they came upon a picture of a Siberian Husky. “What a fierce looking dog!” they said. “And full grown he can give us up to 60 pounds of ferocity. We have faith that our new pup will grow up to be a good guard dog for us; we’ll name him Myka.”

But as their pup grew, they were shocked to see how, instead of being suspicious and aggressive towards strangers, Myka was good natured and welcomed strangers. He wanted to play with them. Some guard dog!

We can’t say that the family did not have “enough” faith in Myka.  Rather, this family’s faith was based on a flawed understanding of what a Siberian Husky is really like.

Similarly, we can’t say that the disciples did not have “enough” faith in Jesus, but, just as the Husky owners had a flawed understanding of who Myka was, the disciples had a flawed understanding of who Jesus really was.

The disciples may have believed Jesus was a great guy and a good teacher who would say challenging, provocative and enigmatic things. But they did not understand that he was actually the Lord of creation who had authority over creation. Instead of being terrified by the storm, they needed to see that Jesus was Lord over the storm. They had the opposite problem of Myka’s owners : Myka’s owners did not understand how little Myka could protect them from danger; and Jesus’ disciples did not understand how much Jesus could protect them from danger.

Thankfully, Jesus was, and is, patient and compassionate when people have flawed faith. Think how compassionate Jesus was with the father who found it hard to believe that Jesus could heal his son. The passage begins with the father’s request:

^“ But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”                                                                                                        “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”                                        Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22b-24).

Jesus will help you overcome your unbelief too, if you ask.Do you believe that Jesus is the Lord who saves us from sin and death? If you don’t, ask him for the faith to believe.

Do you have an area of life where it’s difficult to believe Jesus? In this difficult zone, ask him to help your unbelief.  Sometimes he will resolve the difficult situation exactly the way you want, but that is not guaranteed. It is guaranteed, however, that Jesus will alleviate the worry and doubt you may have in the situation. Do ask him!

 “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.” (Psalm 32:3)

How easy it is to glibly say “I’m fine” when someone asks, “How are you doing?”

In today’s blog, you and I are prohibited from saying “I’m fine” unless it means we are Frustrated, Insecure, Neurotic and Exhausted. ¹

Years ago, I learned a lesson from a good brother in Christ when I did not glibly say “I’m fine” when he asked me “Why are you in despair?”  That opened a chance to deal with the issues and frustrations I faced back then as a single man. There were no quick answers, but it was one step forward in a growing process that takes a lot of time—years later, it’s not done yet  and won’t be completed this side of glory! But if I had only smiled on the outside and said, “I’m fine” the chance to grow would have been choked off in a stranglehold.

Even now, it is still a temptation to slip back into quickly saying “I’m fine” again. Writing this post is a reminder for me and an encourager for you. As the Psalmist said, there’s no need to keep silent and groan. We do need someone we can trust enough to be open with when we are Frustrated, Insecure, Neurotic and Exhausted!  Someone who does not say “Oh, come now! You’re a Christian! You shouldn’t be feeling and reacting that way!” Then we can have a culture of vulnerability, and ask people, and have them ask us, “How are you really doing?”

What a refreshing change—from projecting an image of what you think a godly Christian should  be like—to showing your real self and being able to grow into what a godly Christian is really  like.

As Christians, we often undergo trials and tests. Today I’d like to give an overview of Trials and Testing throughout the Bible.

These tests call us to humble ourselves before God and are meant to grow us. But there’s a problem: We (me too!) often switch it around and test God.

Early in Scripture we learn about a huge test failure on a test: The Fall.   Adam and Eve failed the test big time. See Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-6, 3:22-24 to review what happened. The bottom line: Adam and Eve thought they were smarter than God.

Centuries later, after escaping from Egypt, Israel went into the wilderness —- and failed the test. A typical example of this failure is Exodus 17:7:  And he [Moses] called the name of the place Massah[testing]and Meribah [quarreling], because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” To complain against God is to test him and to look down on him. We hold God in contempt.

Jesus began his ministry in a place familiar to the Israelites:   in the wilderness. Good news for us:  Unlike the Israelites he passed his wilderness test! See Matthew 3:16-4:2 and 4:5-7 for how Jesus had victory in this.

The fourth test is the one faced by us Christians. In James 1:2-4 we learn: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. “And James 5:19-20 tells us even more about this.

Through trials and testing, what is our goal? James is confident that when we have trials, and as we seek prayer and encouragement from the body of Christ, we will grow to be able to pass these tests.  We can then share in Paul’s joyful declaration in Ephesians 3:20-21:

^“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Here are some questions to help you work through the implications of today’s teaching:

1. When are you most likely to think that you are smarter than God?
2. When are you most likely to complain against God?
3. When are you most likely to fail the test? (i.e. hungry, not enough sleep, too busy to study scripture, etc.)
4. How do you feel and react when you have failed the test? Not just how you are supposed to react, but how you actually react?  
5. What should happen when we fail a trial or test? See 1 John 2:1-2
6. Does a trial test our ability to do it OR does it test our faith in what the blood of Christ accomplished?
7. In what specific area of testing would you like prayer for growth?

My idea for writing this post was inspired by Ed Welch’s teaching in the Human Personality Online Course at CCEF.

http://www.ccef.org/courses/human-personality

I profited from and recommend taking the CCEF online courses. Your growth in Christ and the ability to minister to others will make it well worth the effort.