Matthew 8
When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” Matthew 8:10 NIV
The centurion had a positive, believing attitude and Jesus did what the centurion asked Him to do. A positive attitude starts with positive thoughts and beliefs, and leads to a productive, happy life. Negative thoughts lead to unproductive, unhappy lives. Positive thoughts are always full of faith and hope. Negative thoughts are always full of fear and doubt. Remember, Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This does not mean that we can get anything we want by just thinking positively about it. God has a perfect plan for each of us, and we cannot control Him with our thoughts and words. But, we must think and speak in agreement with His will and plan for us. His plan is the perfect one, so why not follow it? Even if whatever is taking place in your life at the moment seems terrible, you can expect God to bring good out of it, as He has promised in His Word: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 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. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!” Matthew 8:24-27 NIV
Jesus calmed the storm for His disciples. In the same way, He has the power to calm any storm or help us through any problem in our lives. However, He wants us to have faith in Him – the faith that He can and will solve our problem. He is impressed by our faith, not our crying and worrying and complaining to others about the problem. We need to focus on Him and His power, not the size of the storm or problem. We have to have faith. What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and the evidence of things not seen.” We are also told that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Trust Him and His plan to help you go through and grow through any problem that comes your way in life.