What is Wrong with You?

And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. 2 Chronicles 26:15-16

I know that as a Christian, I’m supposed to live by faith, but what does that look like? I’d insist that Peter’s story of walking on water is an excellent picture of faith. Found in the book of Matthew, the story tells us that Jesus’ disciples were out in their boat in a storm at night, when Jesus came walking towards them. When they realized who he was, Peter wanted to walk on water too. So, Jesus called to Peter and, in faith, Peter looked to Jesus and followed his instruction. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus and followed his commands, he was fine, walking on the water. When, however, Peter took his eyes of Jesus, when he looked to the wind and the waves, and when he began to worry about himself, he sank.

Faith then, as defined by this story, means keeping my eyes on Jesus while following his instruction. What might that entail? For me, it means that I must get up every day to read God’s word, asking what his will is for me today, which necessarily means that I must abandon my will, because my will and God’s will are often incompatible. So, what is the opposite of faith?

I once would have said that disbelief – not believing in God – was the antithesis of faith, but today’s passage provides a much better picture of the opposite of faith. In the story, King Uzziah was a good man who lived by faith. He kept his eyes on God and his behavior followed. And God blessed him. Following God, Uzziah vanquished his enemies and enjoyed tremendous political success. God made Uzziah strong. In his strength however, Uzziah began to turn his eyes from God towards himself. Instead of relying on God, he became self-reliant, forgetting that all his success came from God. He didn’t stop believing in God. He simply turned his eyes from God’s will towards his own will.

That is my life problem and it’s everything that is wrong with me. For better or worse, I’m not alone here. This is man’s greatest problem too. We were created by God to live dependently on him – to live by faith. We were made to keep our eyes on him and to make our feet follow. Our greatest failure then, is self-reliance – taking our eyes off God, looking towards ourselves, following our own way. In doing so, like Peter, we sink. Our way is misery. God’s way is life. Faith then, is keeping our eyes on God, following him.