That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41
Why were the disciples rebuked for having little faith? This should matter to us because we want to please the Lord and according to Hebrews 11 we know that "without faith it is impossible to please God." Would Jesus be disappointed in us for our little faith? Let's look at the possible reasons in this passage.
1) They didn't rebuke the storm themselves - Probably not. They hadn't been sent out yet so they had not experienced any personal supernatural powers. They had not been given the "move mountains" speech yet, also. I don't recall any power over storms in the Bible except for God. (Psalms 107:23). Elijah called for rain but he had to ask God and wait for 7 days. Paul never once rebuked the storm but endured a shipwreck. So if your outdoor wedding gets rained out and you tried to stop the rain or a loved one dies and you attempt to raise them from the dead but fail to succeed on both accounts, it isn't your lack of faith.
2) They didn't trust what Jesus had promised them - Doubtful. David had been promised he would be the next king so I imagine that he knew Goliath wouldn't kill him. Had they been promised invincibility? What had the disciples been promised? At this point only that they would be fishers of men and technically they were already experiencing that. If you felt God promised you that you would someday have a spouse and children or if you felt God promised you a platform to reach the nations and it looks like neither is going to happen, it wasn't your lack of faith. It was probably that you misheard God because God keeps his promises.
3) They underestimated Jesus' power - Maybe. They had seen him cast out demons, heal lepers, raise the dead, turn water to wine, cure sicknesses and paralysis, make blind see, and call thousannds of fish into their nets - surely they should have known He could calm a storm, right? I have to give them a pass because this is all new territory they are exploring. We however are without excuse. We have these accounts recorded for us and we should never doubt God's power to do them. The problem is we doubt whether He will move on our behalf because...
4) They doubted He cared about them. Bingo. When we are going through something and we are thinking Where is God? Why isn't He acting? Does He even care? Lack of Faith! We know things they didn't. He loves us so much that He died the death we deserved and bore our sins on the cross. Of course He cares! We know that He is interceding for us at the right hand of the Father as a faithful high priest and promises us not deliverence bur rather mercy and grace to help in our time of need. And we know He is preparing a place for us and is standing to welcome us into His eternal presence when we leave this vaporious life.
So many people struggle with their faith when they are going through a tough time on Earth. He still cares for you even though you have little faith but on the other hand He's not amused. Let's make it our goal to please God.
