Awakening our Faith

Wow!  What a time to be living.  Just a few short weeks ago our world looked much different.  The stock market was reaching record highs, unemployment was at record lows.  And in a moment, our entire world is now at a stand still.  It has left me thinking about a lot of things.  Some people are watching stock prices fall and they are realizing their plans for the future are getting smaller by the moment.  Some people are watching reruns of sporting events due to the sudden stop of all things sports.  Las Vegas has shut down the strip for the most part and all "gathering places" are becoming restricted.  We went from knowing nothing but freedom to suddenly having our freedoms being dictated, day to day.  Schools, churches, work, ect…

The thing about all of this, the part that keeps my pulse at the normal rate and my blood pressure in check is that I know I am not promised an easy life.  I am not putting my faith into earthly establishments, but I am keeping my eyes on God.  

Several years ago I spent a lot of time digging into Matthew 8:23-27.  Jesus gets into a boat with his disciples and they begin to cross the lake.  Jesus was exhausted and fell asleep.  There was a violent storm that suddenly over took them, waves flooding the boat, yet, Jesus slept.  The disciples woke Jesus up screaming "Help!  We are going to die!"  Jesus reprimanded them and then he rebuked the storm.  My prayer was to have peace to sleep through the storm.  My prayer was to find that peace that would allow me to go to sleep even in the midst of a storm.  (Jesus was actually already asleep when the storm came, so my prayer needed refining, and don't you know that the Lord brought just that.)

As I prayed over this scripture and prayed for the peace that surpassed all understanding, the faith to deal with the storms, and the ability to sleep in the midst of the storms around me, God gave me Jonah 1.  

Jonah 1:4-6 New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.  All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

Jonah went below deck and fell into a deep sleep.  Jesus had already fallen asleep, prior to the violent storm developing.  Both Jonah and Jesus knew what to do to calm the storm, and both calmed the storm.  The question then becomes, where do these storms originate, and what kind of authority do we have over them?

The storms brewing today, are we asleep and being awoken to deal with them or are we running away from the storm and trying to sleep it away?  What does it look like to wake up and take authority over the storm?  What does it look like to say "be still" and know that your words have the ability to quiet the waves and wind?

There are a lot of people who are stirring up with winds and waves, creating panic and worry.  There are a lot of voices pushing fear and panic.  There is one voice that quiets everything, even the most violent of storms.  There is a whisper of a voice that can pour peace over the questions and the "what-ifs."  It seems time to remember that we need to take the time, make it a priority to listen for that voice.

This time can be seen as hardship, or this time can be seen as a gift.  The distractions are growing smaller.  Time with family can be time spent on your devices or it can be time building a deeper relationships, actually TALKING and eating together.  This time can be time spent praying together and corporately, bringing God back into some of the areas that He may have been pushed out of.  This time can be spent looking for ways to take care of others that may not be able to do as much.  Checking in on the elderly, those with big families, those who are single parents.  Share a meal, share a conversation.  Take time to see people again.  Take time to be present.  There aren't so many things to keep us occupied, it is now a personal choice.  Will you take the time to refocus your eyes?

I am expecting to see a great bounce back in the next few weeks.  All of the busyness will have the opportunity to come back and take over our lives again.  This is a time to rest.  This is a time to reprioritize.  This is a time to take a breath and remember that it isn't just about us.  Are we ready to speak to the storm?  Are we ready to find our voices and our faith?  Jesus said it only takes a speck of faith (size of a mustard seed) to move a mountain, how much will it take to move a virus?  How much faith will it take to unite a city and a nation?  How much faith does it take to see the beginning of a movement growing in our cities?  

During the next few weeks of "isolation" what will you be doing?  We are in a season of awakening to use our faith.  How can you flex your faith?  ​