A Bucket of Faith

A BUCKET OF FAITH

By: Julie Souza Bradley Lilly

“He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” – Matthew‬ ‭8:26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sometimes in the middle of a storm at sea we can become preoccupied with merely surviving.  We bail water with our leaky bucket, and we lose sight of God.  The calm moments in a sea of glass feel like mere seconds compared to lengthy days of bailing water, panic and wondering where God is.

Storms reveal our schisms—the hairline cracks between our words and what we truly believe.  They start off as small, but when false beliefs are allowed to persist and aren’t countered with truth —they widen and our faith begins to leak out through the cracks, leaving us empty. The Lord can help to restore our integrity; His Word can bind our words and beliefs together as one.

Two thousand years ago, the Holy Spirit inspired scripture to be penned to remind us that we are not alone in our brokenness.  The Word reveals who God is and the authority He holds (2 Peter 1:21).  He allows storms, not to frighten us into submission, but to remind us that He is in the boat with us.  He uses storms as tools, not to disable us with fear, but to disable the fear within us.

Beloved, are you in a storm?  Let’s look to the Lord.

Father, be with us.  Help us to not be distracted by the waves around us, but to focus on You, lest fear widen the crack, allowing the storm around us to become a storm within us.  Holy Spirit come and bind us together;  heal our brokenness.  Fill the holes in our faith with Your Word, so our faith bucket will hold water.  Lord, thank You that even when we are broken—even when our faith has holes and we are afraid—we are never alone.  You are with us and when You speak peace, even the winds and the seas obey You. In Jesus’ Name ❤️

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