Tested faith makes believers stronger

Most of us occasionally struggle to be patient with those closest to us, our spouses, children, co-workers and friends.

That’s understandable, since no matter how much we love them, we inevitably become frustrated with both their failures and the things about them that do not make sense to us.

I am reminded of a story from Jesus’ life when his disciples grew irritated with him.

In Mark 4:35-41, after a busy day Jesus and his men boarded a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee.

Perhaps because the day had been demanding, Jesus soon fell asleep. While he was sleeping a fierce storm blew in with large waves that threatened to sink their small craft.

Jesus continued to sleep as the storm’s intensity increased.

Finally, we are told, “the disciples woke him up shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?’” (Mark 4:38, NLT)

None of us has ever been in a literal storm while Jesus slept peacefully a few feet away. However, many of us have been frustrated at some point by the fact that God rarely reacts the way we would like or moves as fast as we think he should.

While our precise questions may be different, the emotion that prompts our questions is the same.

“Lord, how am I going to survive this cancer?”

“God, how much longer can I hang on financially?”

“Lord, how can I face life without my spouse?”

“God, how much longer do we have to deal with the coronavirus?”

The unspoken question in each situation is at its root, the same one the disciples asked that night, “Lord can’t you see I’m struggling. Don’t you care?”

As I write these words, several people I know are going through desperate times.

A lady from our church recently lost her husband to the COVID-19 virus. Another friend just had her father die. A gentleman in our church lost his wife to cancer this past Sunday.

In our most challenging moments we understand the disciples’ frustration, “Lord, where are you? Don’t you care?”

From our perspective, it would be a relief if Jesus would literally stand up and say, “That’s enough!”

Despite that, life’s challenges rarely end so dramatically.

I am convinced God is always at work in our storms.

We may sometimes experience anger and frustration because we do not grasp why God is allowing things we cannot understand. However, despite our struggle to make sense of what we do not grasp, God will restore our peace if we cling to our faith.

As the disciples learned, our faith often becomes stronger because it has been tested.

Tim Richards grew up in Fairdealing and previously served as associate pastor of Pilgrim’s Rest Church there. He currently serves as a pastor on the staff of Concord Church in South County St. Louis.