Friday Focus #11

When The Storm Hits

Life isn't easy. There can be very, very tough times with no money, broken relationships, no where to live, no method of transportation to work, or even a death of a family member of friend. Each of those are storms....but what about when they all hit at once. Now what?

We can blame God and say that He did this to us. We can overlook how much we are in control of our own decisions that can lead to our storms. Some things do "just happen" but others are a result of decisions we have made that lead to the storm. Remember when Jesus walked on water and invited Peter out into the water, but as Peter started walked, he started sinking (Matthew 14:22-33)? Peter lacked faith that Jesus was able to walk on the water and even when he called out to Jesus, Jesus said "come." But, when Peter saw the wind he got scared and lost sight of Jesus and lost faith and started to sink. Peter was going to do something amazing through God's will and lost his focus and his faith and saw the problem as bigger than his Lord.

But what about those things that just happen not due to bad decisions (a lack of obedience) but just something bad happened? Your house burned down. Car accidents and injuries. Being assaulted. What do we do then? We don't blame God, we use our faith in God to stay on track and know that God will use that situation to be glorified. It can serve as a test, not a punishment (1 Peter 1:7). When God tests us we grow stronger to glorify Him. If everything is easy, how will we grow? We won't!! God doesn't want us to stay in our comfort zones. I used to "worship" the cars I owned or the women I have dated. God had every single one of them removed so that I could see Him better. Whether the car broke down, or was wrecked, or the girl was put on a pedestal, they all served as a set of blinders to keep me from seeing God's will.

From Kerry Shook on "Tracking a Miracle in the Storm"

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Mark 11:23-24- Faith to Move Mountains

Faith to Move Mountains

Sometimes I don't pray and I just complain. I gripe. I moan. I grumble. I tell friends the issue, but I "forget" to pray. I put forget with quotations because I did not actually forget. I have become accustomed to doing things that way. I try to figure it out. There is nothing wrong with using your God given problem solving ability to figure out some of your issues. But, what about using that ability to speak to God and pray?

In Mark 11:12-14, Jesus curses a fig tree that was no longer producing any fig (fruit). It wasn't doing what it was supposed to do. It wasn't doing it's job. It was useless. Just sitting there looking pretty with leaves. After he cleansed the temple from the "thieves" in verses 15-19, he and the disciples walked by the fig tree that he had cursed and they saw that it had withered to its roots. He uses this moment to teach them to have faith in God. He says that you can tell a mountain to to be thrown into the sea and it will if you do not have a a doubt in your heart. Bam! Right there, he said a "doubt in his heart."

When we pray about our mountains (money, relationship issues, living situations, jobs, health) do we really pray with that kind of faith? Do we have doubts? Then when the prayer is not answered we think God is ignoring us. But, if we read and seek to understand and have faith that God is not only listening but truthful in fulfilling his promises.

He follows up this command by also saying that when we pray we are also to forgive any trespasses (wrong doing) against us by other people. In school, we are not encouraged to get F's, but here Jesus wants us to have F's with Faith and Forgiveness (see what I did there?) How can God here our prayer and come through to move the mountain if we do not believe that He will and when we have bitterness and an unforgiving heart toward others.

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