Faith is an attitude that makes it
possible to live my dreams. Faith isn’t something I must have before I
move in the direction of my dreams. Instead, it’s something that
develops after I start moving.
When I start out, I don’t see how my dreams are possible. But the
moment I take my first step, faith instantly comes into my life. Faith
is a way of life, and only happens when I move in a positive direction.
I can’t sit in my easy chair and expect faith to suddenly pop into my
mind. I have to start moving in a positive direction before it
happens. Most people get this backwards. They don’t move until they
feel like they have enough faith. Consequently, they never go anywhere
and their dreams never come true.
I have a practical method for increasing my faith. I act as if my
dreams are possible and work each day to make them happen. I act as if
I cannot fail as I move in the direction of my dreams. When I don’t
worry if I have enough faith, my faith does just fine.
Several of Jesus' disciples were
fishermen, and occasionally Jesus used their boats to travel to his next
destination. One evening they were crossing the Sea of Galilee with
Jesus asleep in the stern of the boat. While they were underway, a
fierce squall arose, and the wind and waves threatened to overwhelm
their boat. They were taking on water as each new wave washed over
them, and it was only a matter of time before they would sink if the
situation didn't rapidly improve. This was a true emergency; these
fishermen were not over-reacting when they thought they might die during
this storm. Everyone who has been in a storm at sea knows exactly how
they felt.
Jesus slept through the storm until the fishermen woke him up and said,
"Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Jesus rebuked the wind and
waves, and the storm immediately subsided. Then Jesus said to his
comrades, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Why wasn't Jesus afraid? Jesus knew that he didn't come into this world
to drown in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was following God's plan, and
death by drowning definitely wasn't in the plan. Jesus had such close
fellowship with God that he knew God's plan by heart from start to
finish. Jesus knew he had nothing to fear from a storm at sea.
The disciples didn't know that God wouldn't allow them to perish in the
storm. They didn't understand God's plan, and their hearts were full of
fear. The same thing often happens with us.
Without a close personal relationship with God, we don't understand his
plan, and our hearts are full of fear. When our fellowship with God
becomes up close and personal, for the first time we understand his
plan, and we put our faith in it. We know that if we follow his plan,
nothing can happen to us until the plan has run its full course. Once
we have faith in his plan, we no longer have any reason to fear.
Jesus made it clear that fear has no place in the heart of a child of
God. When you have a personal relationship with God and follow God's
plan, you have nothing to fear.
