Mastered by Your Circumstances?
"Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"—Matthew 6:30
Martin Lloyd Jones said, "To be of little faith means we are mastered by our circumstances instead of mastering them." Worry is an indication of a lack of faith.
Jesus said, "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30). Jesus was not saying, "You have no faith." Rather, He was asking, "Why do you have so little faith?"
There are people today who believe that God will save their soul, but they have a hard time believing that God will provide for their needs or resolve their problems or answer their prayers. They believe in Jesus for salvation, but they have a hard time believing Him for other things. When a challenge or a test comes their way, they are bowled over by it.
So how do we get faith? How do we grow in it? We get it from hearing the Word of God, because the Bible says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). But it is not only hearing it; it is attention with intention. There are different ways to listen. You can listen and let your mind wander. Or, you can hear God's Word and internalize God's Word, and your faith will grow.
Our faith also grows by using it—by taking God's Word and applying it. Sometimes we treat faith as though it were a fragile little egg, when in reality, it is like a muscle that grows stronger through use.
We need to grow in our faith. May it never be said of us, "O you of little faith!" Let's master our circumstances rather than letting them master us.
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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“2012 ‘I AM’ Calendar”
Each month of our 2012 calendar features an ‘I AM’ statement of Christ and then, right alongside the specific verse, we offer a little commentary on what that statement means. There is also a suggested prayer included that you might pray to deepen your appreciation and application of that ‘I AM’ verse in your own life.
“It is always a good thing to be surrounded by the Word of God. So to help you in that endeavor, I want to send you our brand new 2012 calendar featuring the ‘I AM’ statements of Jesus Christ in appreciation for your gift of support to Harvest Ministries.” —Greg