A Sinking Faith

by: Carole L. Haines

^{A Sinking Faith} 

^{By: Carole L. Haines} 

²⁸ Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!” 
(Matthew 14:28-33) 

This scenario has played out in my life so many times. I have weathered storms in faith, but at times I have sunk below the waves in fear. I have been great in faith and yet great in failure too. God is growing me beyond my ability to grow myself. But the road of growth is littered by failure as well as victory. How many times have I cried out, “Lord, if this is You then________? You fill in the blank. It reminds me of the story of Gideon in the Book of Judges. Gideon was hiding when God saw him. God called Gideon, “Valiant Warrior” while he was still hiding in fear. I think my failure has to do with how little I understand of how God sees me. 

I need to embrace who God calls me to be. I need to believe His declaration over my life, and not the circumstances or nay-sayers around me. I am my worst critic, the loudest Nay-sayer in the bunch. But I must silence even my own inner voice and listen to the voice of My God and King. God has renamed me; He has revealed those names to me. I am Daughter of Encouragement, Song of Joy. I need to embrace that, believe that and walk in that. And Beloved Believer, so do you. I call my struggle with doubt a sinking faith.
Oswald Chambers has this to say about Sinking Faith. 

The Theology of Resting in God 

“There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.” (Oswald Chambers) 

O, Amen, Lord bring us to the point where we believe what You say amidst the Storm. A storm does not change our spiritual identity, even if it wreaks havoc on the vessel of our life. We can ride out these storms in You, coming through stronger in our faith in You. O Father, teach us that we too can “go to the point of breaking without breaking our confidence in You. Thank You Jesus, for Your transforming grace and mercy toward us, especially when we struggle with a sinking faith in ourselves.