“Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” Luke 8:24 (NIV)
Some people have the idea that faith works automatically. They feel if they have faith, then when a great crisis comes, it will turn on automatically.
You only need to look at the disciples on the boat in the storm to realize this is a complete fallacy. If faith worked automatically, then it would have turned on when the storm blew up on the lake, and the disciples would never have been in difficulty.
But when Jesus asks them, “Where is your faith?” His question makes it very clear that faith must be intentionally engaged. You have to intentionally put it into operation.
Perhaps you have a heating and cooling system in your apartment or home, in which you set a thermostat to turn on at a certain temperature. When it gets hot in the summer, the thermostat turns on and starts the cooling; in the winter, when the house gets too cold, it starts the heating. This happens automatically, and you don’t even have to be at home.
Your faith is not like that. You have to apply your faith to the particular situation in which you find yourself. There is an intentional activity here. You look at the situation facing you, factor in the ability of God, and trust intentionally in the goodness of God.
You refuse to panic, because you know whatever happens, your life and everything that concerns you is in the hand of God, and His plan is always for your ultimate good. When you have worked it through to the point that it’s clear, you will be in a position to think, pray, speak, and act with faith. And when that happens, the world will begin to wonder what makes you different.
Where do you need to intentionally engage your faith today?
