Fear, Faith, & the Object Thereof

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

(Mark 4:35-41).

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Our Lord does care when we are struggling (1Pet.5:7). The reason behind our fearful doubt of His care is that we trust ourselves too much. We put God in the little box labeled "what I can comprehend." When we stumble and fall, we then expect that God will do the same. But He doesn't.

When God seems far away, the problem is not Him; it's us. Our sole focus is self and some desperate situation (storm). Then when He does answer our prayers, we are shocked and fearful because we didn't really believe He would do it. If we have faith in the first place, He not only delivers us, but also guides us along the path.

"Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;

He also has become my salvation"

(Is.12:2).

This is the object: God is my salvation. Therefore, I will trust Him and not fear (worry). He is the purpose of my life - beginning, middle, and end - I must run the race on His strength. He is shall be my song all the day.

The Lord Jehovah has freed me from perishing in the darkness of sin now and in eternity. For what more could I ask?

"My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

~Ps.73:26

Your Face

"If you live close to God

And His infinite grace,

You don't have to tell;

It shows in your face."

~Anonymous

This little rhyme brought to mind a few questions that really challenged me.

>Is this what everyone sees in me? In other words, am I consistent?

>If so, do unsaved people know what they are seeing? Sure, they may see something different & even good; but do I tell them what (or Who)?

>How am I sharing the "joy of serving Jesus" with others?

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?...So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"(Romans 10:14,17).

Thank you to the friend who gave me the idea for this.

On the Burning Bush: from Devotions

¹ Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. ³ Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
⁴ So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
⁵ Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” ⁶ Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
⁷ And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ⁸ So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.⁹ Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
¹² So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:1-12)

God often speaks to us while we're doing mundane tasks.

How can we be more open to hear Him?

>Turn aside to look.(vs.3)

>Give God your full attention. "Here I am" (vs.4)

>Be willing to obey.

>Confess any sin that may be hindering face-to-face communion with your Father.(1Thess. 5:19)

>Don't deny God's power! He sees. He cares. He acts. We don't have to understand the how, when, or why. (2 Tim. 1:12)

>Remember that it is a privilege to serve Him.(James 1:2-3)

>Do what He tells you. He won't give you anything to do that He won't help you to complete. (1John 5:3-5)

The Lord wants your attention. What is your burning bush this week?

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Pet. 5:6-11)