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Where is your Faith?

Last week, Oliver Edwards-Neil and Troels Hansen were flying a small airplane from Labrador to Iqaluit when the engine quit. They were able to land safely and then, before they had time to get anything out of it, the plane sank in the icy water. After spending all night on an ice floe in Hudson Straight just south of Baffin Island, they were finally rescued by a passing boat.

The good news, though, was that they were wearing their survival suits at the time of the crash. “They did not land on an ice floe off of Bermuda, so it’s definitely because of their preparedness that they survived the event”, said Master Corporal Joe Arsenault, who was part of the search and rescue team.

Being prepared long before the plane crashed made all the difference.

In Luke 8, Jesus tells his disciples to get in a boat and cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As they went, a storm broke out and things became so bad that the disciples thought that they were going to die. They woke Jesus up and he calmed the storm. Then he asked them this question: “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25).

I have always read that question as an accusation. In other words, Jesus is bawling them out for not having enough faith to be strong in the storm. However, what if that is the wrong assumption? What if that question is not so much an accusation as it is a reminder?

What if Jesus is actually asking them: “Where is your faith? Is it handy? Do you have it close by, because you are going to need it!” That is a completely different lesson!

Storms will come. God never promised to protect us from everything. In fact, in this story, they are in the storm because Jesus told them to go out on the lake! Faith does not keep us from trouble, but it can help us get through it.

The two pilots had their survival suits on long before they needed them. Similarly, our faith needs to be constantly nearby. It needs to be part of everything we are and everything we do. If we go looking for it only when trouble comes, it may be too late.

Now is the time to get ready.

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