Faith That Controls Hardships
(Matt. 8:23~27)

The disciples of Jesus faced a great storm while crossing the sea by boat. They hurriedly woke up Jesus who was sleeping. Jesus rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was immediately calm. Through this incident, we can learn how to overcome hardships in life. The power that conquers hardships is our faith toward God.

1. The model of absolute faith
1) Jesus’ rebuking of the winds and the waves and making them calm show that the work of Satan is behind. We must resist the devil and drive it out. (Matt. 8:23~24)
2) Jesus slept peacefully in the midst of the storm by trusting God. We can learn what absolute faith is through Jesus. (Ps. 55:22)
3) The disciples who faced a storm hurriedly woke up Jesus who was sleeping. When we face crises of life, we must not be discouraged or fall in despair and rely on the Lord by praying. (Ps. 62:8)

2. Faith that overcomes the environment
1) Even if the storms of hardships come in life, we must have positive thoughts. (Jer. 29:11)
2) No matter what kind of situations we face, we must look to the cross and have dreams and hopes. (Acts 2:17)
3) If we have dreams, faith that overcomes difficult environments comes. (1 John 5:4)

3. The confession of positive faith
1) We must always speak positive words to ourselves and to our neighbors. (Ps. 19:14)
2) Because spoken words are contagious, we must be careful of our neighbors’ negative spoken words. (Prov. 20:19)
3) The most positive confession of faith is the language of thanksgiving. (Ps. 50:23)

Conclusion
Overcoming hardships with faith greatly benefits us. Through hardships, we can experience the power of God and rely on Him more. When facing big and small problems in life, we must put our hope in God and ask for His help. If we move forward by believing in God and pray, our Almighty God will lend a hand and deliver us from storms.