My attention was captured in a spontaneous moment of worship as I leaned against the boat railing on the Sea of Galilee. The song How Great is our God began to play through the onboard speakers. I looked out across water and land that had witnessed the greatness of God. I saw the hills where Jesus preached the sermon on the mount and where he fed the 5,000. Galilee was the place where Jesus turned water into wine, where he walked on water and where he performed most of his miracles. I was moved to tears as I considered the greatness of our God.
I considered how many people in the time of Christ had similar profound spiritual moments, and even far more intense as they saw the greatness of God with their own eyes. Galilee was a place of faith but it was a place of struggling faith. Galilee faith was a faith that got really excited about the miracles but was skeptical of the miracle worker. Galilee faith ate the bread and had their fill but could not accept the true bread from heaven. It was a faith that felt strong during the sermon but crumbled in the storm. Galilee faith would eventually lead Jesus to say, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:21).
Processing all of this, I was hit with the thought that experiencing a great God is not equal to living with great faith. Faith is not just the emotional moment on the boat in Galilee. Faith is taking that point of connection and letting it change my life.
Are you interested in moving beyond Galilee faith?
The story of Jesus calming the storm on Galilee reveals some trademarks of Galilee faith in the two questions asked by the disciples, 1. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”, 2. “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”.
1st Trademark of Galilee Faith: Galilee faith is not convinced of Jesus’ unconditional love. Galilee faith judges God’s character through the lens of human circumstances.
Mark 4:38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
The disciples felt that Jesus cared when he multiplied the bread and the fish, but they weren’t sure when he slept through the storm. Galilee faith feels the approval of God when we get the job and doubts his goodness when we lose it. With Galilee faith we feel lovable when we act well but unlovable when we fall.
That is Galilee faith. Here are some ways to move beyond it.
- Don’t assume that God’s apparent silence is indifference. Trust that a sleeping Jesus is still a loving Jesus.
- Stop judging God’s character through the lens of your circumstances. Start seeing your circumstances through faith in God’s character.
- Stop pretending to know God’s plan. Start pursuing a knowledge of his character. When the plan doesn’t go as we expect or want, God’s character remains the same.
We can trust God’s unconditional love. Yes, the teacher does care if we drown.
2nd Trademark of Galilee Faith: Galilee faith is not convinced of Jesus’ divine authority. Galilee faith is impressed by what Jesus does but is ignorant of who Jesus is.
After Jesus told the wind and waves to stop and commented on the disciple’s lack of faith, the disciples asked their second revealing question.
Verse 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
In the story of the man lowered through the roof to be healed (Mark 2:1-12) we see this trademark of Galilee faith as the scribes stumbled over Jesus’ divinity and his authority. The obvious thing for Jesus to do here would been to heal the man’s lame body. But Jesus surprised everyone when he said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” The scribes who were there got uncomfortable with his divinity and questioned, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (v.7). Galilee faith isn’t sure if Jesus is divine. Then Jesus tells plainly why he chose to forgive rather than just heal the body. He did it so that they would know he had authority to forgive. (v.10).
There is an important difference between power and authority. Power is the ability to do something. Authority is the permission to exercise power. Jesus wasn’t just powerful to heal, he had divine authority to forgive. When he declares something, all forces of nature and the spiritual realm obey what he says because he has authority. He has the right to forgive you. He has the right to change you. Because Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, we need not stumble into the kingdom of God with an imposter syndrome.
We may see some Galilee faith within us. The good news is that God can grow Galilee faith. Notice the different reaction the disciples had to a later miracle when Jesus walked on water.
Matthew 14:33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
They worshipped where they once only feared. They affirmed his divinity where they once questioned it.
Galilee faith doesn’t know who Jesus is or what authority he has. Here is how to move beyond it.
- Recognize that the Jesus who loves you is the God of the universe with divine authority.
- Stop feeling like an imposter as a child of God. Let’s eradicate the imposture syndrome from the kingdom of God by spreading the truth that Jesus has AUTHORITY to forgive sin!
- Stop responding to the greatness of God with fear and questioning. Start responding to His greatness with worship and affirmation.