Shaky Faith

I don't know if you've ever had one of those conversations where you knew without a doubt that God was all over it and speaking into the situation. Such a holy, awe-inspiring experience! It happened yesterday as I was chatting with a friend and our conversation turned to the idea of faith. We were discussing the hard things that we've both been through lately and how that has affected our faith. We were pondering the idea of how to live with faith and hope even when circumstances seem to not be following suit. We realized that as hard as it is to admit, blind faith or faith never tested really is no faith at all. One only knows the strength, or lack thereof, of their faith when life is stormy. Yeah, I know, I don't like that very much either. We discussed the event where Jesus calmed the storm. The storm was scary, all looked lost, and hopeless, and faith was ebbing away fast for the disciples. And yet, they knew to ask Jesus for help. We all can probably relate to being in a storm in our life. Life has not been easy lately for most people I know. It is necessary for faith in Jesus to be our anchor in the storm, not the other way around, or the boat just might sink, or at the least, run amuck in the storm. We can't have faith in the boat (ourselves, our lives, what we create) or in the idea that the storm (circumstance) will go away (because it might not). Instead, our anchor needs to be Jesus. He's the only one who can hold us in the storm and the only one who can bring calm and peace. Yes, sometimes our faith seems weak just like the disciples in this story, but they knew to Whom to go. Jesus challenged them to grow more in their faith. He offers us the same challenge. We are so afraid to admit that our faith is weak or that we have doubts. I'm wondering though if confession of weak faith is the seed of faith. It grows from there. It can't grow in the dark without bringing it into the light. In fact, it could die right there in the dark. I know life is hard. I know storms are either threatening or blustering away in many of my friends' and family's lives. Let's encourage one another to hold onto faith in the Anchor no matter how weak we think our faith may be. Blessings today to all of you.