Matthew 8:23-27
Jesus’ response to the disciples’ terror is telling. The ocean can be a frightening place when the winds and waves pick up, yet Jesus admonishes them for having so little faith. Faith for what? Faith to calm the sea—just as He was about to do. In this moment, Jesus shows them that even the elements are no match for His authority, the same authority He has given to every believer in Him. The missing element in their case—and often in ours—was faith.
Jesus said that if we had faith as small as a mustard seed, we could move mountains. Belief is truly powerful.
Jesus sees in us what we do not see in ourselves and is always calling us to become more than we currently are. Our faith is meant to grow, enabling us to do more for the Kingdom. We are to go from “faith to faith.” The Kingdom of God operates by faith—we simply need to believe.
Jesus shows us what is possible, yet it was their lack of faith that held them back.
This should not be difficult for us to understand. What we believe about ourselves often manifests in our lives. “As a man thinks, so is he.” We must learn to think like children of God and exercise dominion over the created order. Is that not God’s mandate from the beginning in Genesis 1:26–28?
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””
Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV
This reminds me of the scene in The Lion King when Mufasa appears to Simba and says, “You have forgotten who you are and so forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become.”
Did Jesus not say that the Kingdom of God is within us? The enemy of our souls seeks to keep us in bondage, much like a baby elephant tied to a pole when it is young. The elephant eventually stops trying to break free and remains restricted as an adult, even though it now has the strength to escape.
We have authority over all the power of the enemy, yet how few of us actually exercise that authority. Jesus showed us what we are capable of if we would simply believe.
“All things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
Jesus said that if we had faith as small as a mustard seed, we could move mountains. Belief is truly powerful.
Jesus sees in us what we do not see in ourselves and is always calling us to become more than we currently are. Our faith is meant to grow, enabling us to do more for the Kingdom. We are to go from “faith to faith.” The Kingdom of God operates by faith—we simply need to believe.
Jesus shows us what is possible, yet it was their lack of faith that held them back.
This should not be difficult for us to understand. What we believe about ourselves often manifests in our lives. “As a man thinks, so is he.” We must learn to think like children of God and exercise dominion over the created order. Is that not God’s mandate from the beginning in Genesis 1:26–28?
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””
Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV
This reminds me of the scene in The Lion King when Mufasa appears to Simba and says, “You have forgotten who you are and so forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become.”
Did Jesus not say that the Kingdom of God is within us? The enemy of our souls seeks to keep us in bondage, much like a baby elephant tied to a pole when it is young. The elephant eventually stops trying to break free and remains restricted as an adult, even though it now has the strength to escape.
We have authority over all the power of the enemy, yet how few of us actually exercise that authority. Jesus showed us what we are capable of if we would simply believe.
“All things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
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