The Meaning of Your Circumstances

Next week at lifegroup we will be discussing the question, "What has God been up to in your life lately?" I have been pondering that question with a backdrop of two recent sermons, one from Matthew 7 and one from Matthew 8 that I had never thought of in connection with each other, and it's helped me to keep in mind the importance of rightly interpreting my circumstances.

In Matthew 7, Jesus finishes his sermon on the mount by saying, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."  As was pointed out in the message, the wise person is the who who actually does what Jesus says, not just who hears, understands, and agrees with what Jesus says.  Most often, the problem isn't what we don't know; it's what we don't apply of what we do know. (I know I should eat fruits and vegetables, but I actually order the fries.)  Jesus also doesn't say that the one who hears and does what he says will avoid the storm.  It says he will withstand it.  How often do I fall under the misconception that if I am just obedient enough, I can avoid the rain altogether?
 
In Matthew 8, Jesus is heading across the lake with the disciples and lo and behold they run into a fierce storm.  While Jesus is sleeping, the disciples are panicking.  In Mark's account, the disciples wake him and ask, "Don’t you care if we drown?".  Isn't that interesting?  Not long after hearing the greatest sermon ever given about doing what Jesus says and withstanding the storm, the disciples do what Jesus says by getting into the boat, enter a storm and then interpret their circumstance as indicative of a lack of Jesus' care and concern for them.  Isn't that so typical of what I do?  I create false expectations of what I think my life should be like (all sunshine and no storms) which have no basis in what Jesus actually taught, and then when circumstances turn unfavorable the deceiver is right there at my elbow saying, "See, look at that, obviously Jesus doesn't care that you're drowning," and I totally buy it.

I can understand why Jesus would then ask the disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  Am I looking at what God is doing in my life with eyes of faith, standing firm on the rock and doing what he says?  Or am I seeing those sames circumstances through eyes of fear, doubting that he is concerned for me and failing to trust him enough to do what he says?