O Ye of Little Faith

I always knew that I would someday find a verse or two in the Bible that fits me completely. In fact I want to examine three verses that uses the very same term that describes who I am; maybe not all of the time … but who I am most of the time.

I know who and what I am, I'm … a follower of Jesus. Notice I didn't say … I'm a Christian. Do you know why? The term … "Christian" … means Christ like; and I'm far from that. In fact, sometimes I wonder just how much of a distance I keep myself from Him as I "try" to follow Jesus.

I once heard someone say that the young men chosen by a Rabbi to be an apprentice, a student in training to become a Rabbi, followed so closely behind their teacher that the dust from the Rabbi's feet would be picked up upon their clothing as they walked on the dusty roads in Israel. In fact they coined a phrase that went something like this … "May the dust of your Rabbi be upon you."

I'm not sure if I ever get close enough to Jesus as I follow Him to pick up any of His dust. I have heard the phrase about being left in someone's dust though.

I want to share and speak about the following three verses with you. You will notice in these verses I have high lighted the part that speaks about me in bold print. If you are anything like me … open and honest about yourself … you might even identify just a little bit with the term Jesus used.

This first verse is from what is commonly called "the Sermon on the Mount" with Jesus speaking about the Providential care of God over all His creation, including even some that were unfaithful in His generation.

Matthew 6:30 … "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"

Matthew Henry says … "This may be taken as an encouragement to true faith, though it be but weak; it entitles us to divine care and a promise of supply. Great faith shall be commended and shall procure great things; but little faith shall not be rejected, for even that faith shall procure food and raiment. The babes in the family are fed and clothed as well as those that are grown up … but if we had more faith, we should have less care."

Some people have tried to say that Jesus was rebuking those listening to Him about unbelief saying it was His way to gently reprove the general spirit of unbelief that natural men had and still have because we are surrounded by a world of sin and death. I don't think so. If Jesus did anything, He might have chided them because of the amount of faith they used in their everyday lives … little faith. They didn't have much, but it was still faith. It wasn't … unbelief. Unbelief is totally different than faith, no matter the size.

Right after Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount, He heals a leper on the way to Peter's house where He heals Peter's mother-in-law; after which He casts out evil spirits and heals all that come to Him along the way to the Sea of Tiberias. I would say that He had a pretty full day. Now a little later and most likely tired, He and the disciples get into a small ship or a large open boat with sails that were commonly used for fishing and headed to the other side of the sea to the area known as either the Gergesenes or the Gadarenes.

It was night by now and Jesus was weary and had laid down to rest knowing they were all safe in the hands of God. But a violent storm comes up with waves that begin to wash over the boat. Afraid, the disciples awaken Jesus, sleeping through the storm that is blowing all around them and they cry out to Him … Lord, save us. So what does Jesus do?

The second verse is Matthew 8:26 …

"And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."

I can replay this very situation in my mind each time a storm of life has tried to sink my ship of faith. The verse right before this one is the one I mainly identify with; the one where the followers of Jesus in the boat cried out … "Lord, save us." Is that your response when you are about to go down with the ship? It should be.

I've tried to rebuke the storm myself, but usually nothing happens … so I cry out to Jesus … and let Him rebuke the storm for me. Why do I do that? Because I am one of those "O ye of little faith" type people I guess. I'm also honest about it.

Like most of us, the disciples were slow to learn. In this first story, it was God who sent them out into the storm with Jesus, to learn from the Lord as He spoke … words of faith … to still the storm.

In this next scriptural setting, it will be Jesus who sends the disciples out into the storm by themselves, giving them the opportunity to speak words of faith as He had just taught them in the earlier storm. But as we also do many times … they failed.

This time, not only were the disciples tested as a whole; the Lord had a special test for Peter and calls for him to step out of the boat. And the test begins … walking on water by faith. But Peter takes his eyes off Jesus … which causes "failure" every time. He starts to sink and once again cries … "Lord save me" … as he did in the first storm.

So again, what does Jesus do? My third verse is Matthew 14:31 …

"And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

What do all three of these scriptures have in common? The words … little faith. But I believe they show a progression of sorts away from even small faith.

In the first scripture Jesus said their faith level was just small … "little faith."

In the second scripture their little faith gave birth to fear; hence the question … "Why are ye fearful?"

In the third scripture, because of the fear Peter's faith level allowed into his life, faith is now replaced with doubt. Jesus asked him … "Wherefore didst thou doubt?"

As Matthew Henry said, there is nothing wrong with little faith as long as it is … true faith … it's just small. I don't know how much faith it takes to move the heart of God. I can't believe it takes much because His great big heart of love is tender towards us or He would not have sent Jesus to die in our place.

I believe there is also a common thread woven in each of the stories surrounding these three verses and that is the complete and total care of God over our lives.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said …

Take no thought about … What shall we eat? What shall we drink? How shall we be clothed? Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

In these other two verses, it is that we are to … trust God even in the storms that come … for God is able to keep you safe. And we are not to forget that sometimes it is God who sends us out into the storm so we can test the size of our faith … be it little or great.

Size doesn't matter. It's what you do with it that counts.


Comments welcome.