Jon Bloom - Not by Sight: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Walking by Faith

WHAT DOES JESUS REALLY want from you? So much needs to be said. But boiled down to one sentence its this: Believe in God; believe also in me (John 14:1). Thats why when the apostle John wrote his gospel, he used some form of the word believe eighty-five times in twenty-one chapters. What he remembered Jesus emphasizing in his teaching and preaching was believing.

Whether or not you believe in Jesus is the most important issue of your life because whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36). You see, without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Heb. 11:6).

But believing in Jesus is very difficult. Its difficult because the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), and he works with all his might to blind "the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4). And he is constantly trying to lead believers astray (Matt. 24:24).

Because of this, it is crucial that followers of Jesus learn to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). In other words, we must learn to trust Gods promises more than we trust our perceptions. This theme is woven through the Bible from beginning to end.

The purpose of this little book is to imaginatively reflect on the real experiences of real people in the Bible in order to help you grasp and live what it means to trust in the Lord with all your heart, and... not lean on your own understanding (Prov. 3:5). Its goal is to help you believe in Jesus while living in a very confusing and painful world.

Jesus said, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent (John 6:29). My prayer is that God will use this book to encourage you in the most important work you will ever do in your life.

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I highly recommend John Pipers book, What Jesus Demands from the World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006).

If you would like to explore further the vision of God and life presented in this book, we at Desiring God would love to serve you. We have thousands of resources to help you grow in your passion for Jesus Christ and help you spread that passion to others. At our website, www.desiringGod.org , youll find almost everything John Piper has written and preached, including more than forty books. Weve made over thirty years of his sermons available free online for you to read, listen to, download, and in some cases watch.

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JAMES ZEBEDEE AND FEAR

Luke 8:2225

THE SEA WAS QUIET now. And there was just breeze enough to push the boat along.

The disciples were quiet too. Andrew was steering. He had taken over for Peter, who sat wrapped in a cloak, exhausted and lost in thought. He had been soaked to the skin. A few others were bailing out the remaining water.

Jesus was sleeping again.

James leaned on the bow gunwale watching reflections dance on gentle waves.

James knew this sea. He and John had spent most of their lives on or in it. His father was a fisherman. So were most of his male kin and friends. His memory flashed the faces of some of them who had drowned in unpredictable Galilean windstorms like the one that had pummeled them barely a half hour ago.

A seasoned boatman, James was not alarmed easily. But he knew a man-eater when he saw it. This storm had opened its mouth to swallow them all into the abyss.

Terror had been in Johns eyes when he grabbed James and yelled, We have to tell the Master! They stumbled to the stern. How Jesus had remained sleeping while the furious surf tossed the boat around was itself a wonder. They woke him screaming, Master, Master, we are perishing! (v. 24).

James would never forget the way Jesus looked at him. His eyes were at once potent and tranquil. No trace of fear. Laying aside the blanket, Jesus rose to full height on the rear deck. James, fearing Jesus was about to be pitched overboard, reached to grab him just as Jesus shouted, Peace! Be still! (Mark 4:39).

No sooner had those words left his mouth and the wind was completely gone! The sudden hush of the howling was otherworldly. The waves immediately began to abate. Each disciple stood where he was, looking dumbfounded at the water and sky and each other.

Jesuss gaze lingered for a moment on the steep hills along the western shore. Then he looked around at the Twelve and said, Where is your faith? (v. 25).

He had looked right at James when he said faith.

Now, as James leaned on the bow, he turned Jesuss question over and over in his mind.

Where is your faith?" When Jesus first said it, James felt its intended rebuke. Didnt he trust God? He thought he had. But the storm proved that all the confidence he felt when the pressure was off was fair-weather faith. The Galilean westerlies had swept it away. He felt chastened and humbled.

But the more James thought about the question, the deeper it dug into him. Where is your faith? Where? My faith is in what I see. My faith is in what I feel. When the storm hit, I trusted what my eyes saw. I trusted what my skin felt. I trusted the violent force that was tossing the boat like a toy. I trusted the stories told by my father. I trusted the tragedies I remember. I trusted the power of the storm because storms kill people. Is that wrong? Up until a few minutes before, this would have merely seemed like common sense. But Jesus had changed everything.

James looked back to the sleeping Jesus. He looked almost the same as when the storm was raging. But which had looked Where Is Your Faith? 25 more powerful then? What his eyes saw. But which really was more powerful? Jesus had killed the killer storm with a word.

James felt fear wash over him again. But it was a very different kind of fear. He thought, Who then is this? (v. 25).

As James looked back down at the water, the psalmists words came to mind:

For I know that the Lord is great,

and that our Lord is above all gods.

Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all deeps.

He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,

who makes lightnings for the rain

and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

(Ps. 135:57)

James trembled.

What Jesus did for James and the other disciples when he quieted the storm was a fear-transfer. One moment they feared the storm and the next moment they feared Jesus, with a holy, reverent fear. This storm was a gift from God to them because it taught them just how powerful Jesus was and deepened their faith in him. And it prepared them to weather other, even more deadly kinds of storms that lay ahead of them.