The tempest you now endure is no stranger to the child of God. You cry for strength, for increased faith, for guidance, and well you may, for the Lord Himself has ordained that these very trials become the schoolroom where faith is taught. To ask for faith is to confess you have some already, for He who pleads, “Add to my faith,” acknowledges a living seed within. That seed, though small as a grain of mustard, can do wonders when it casts itself wholly upon Christ. The disciples, faced with commands too high for nature, prayed, “Increase our faith,” and our Lord did not rebuke them. He rather pointed them to the simplest duty, that they might learn faith’s true character. So now, in the pruning hour, do not despair of the little faith you have. Peter, sinking amid the waves, could not boast of giant confidence, yet his cry, “Lord, save me!” reached the Master’s ear and drew forth the mighty hand that held him up. It is not the strength of your faith that saves, but the strength of Him in whom your faith reposes. Therefore, when your heart is overwhelmed, betake yourself to prayer, for little faith knows where its strength lies.
You plead also for vindication against adversaries who have plotted falsely and joined hands against you. This, too, must be laid at the mercy seat. To wait upon the Lord for your creed and your cause is to renew strength, for He who sees in secret will bring forth your righteousness as the light. But beware lest the desire for personal vindication breed a root of bitterness. The faith that saves is no barren sentiment; it works by love and purges away the spirit of revenge. Consider Him who, when reviled, reviled not again, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. The shield of faith will quench the fiery darts of the wicked, whether they be whispers of slander or the malice of men who “didn’t like you.” Their enmity is a small thing when Jehovah Rophi braces every trembling part of your spiritual frame and lifts you above the fear of man. Vindication belongs to God, and He will bring it to pass in His own time, if it be for your good and His glory. Your part is to walk in uprightness, forgive as you have been forgiven, and trust the final verdict to the Judge of all.
Strength you need, and strength you shall have if your faith abandons every other prop and rests entirely upon the Lord. Those who wait upon Him renew their strength; they mount up with wings as eagles. This strength is not of the creature, it is derived, measurable, and soon exhausted. But when you submit yourself completely and trust entirely, setting both your strength and your weakness aside and giving yourself up for God to use you, then you shall renew your strength. The glory of a Christian is not in a show of human might, but in the power of Christ resting upon him. Go forward, then, not asking to be carried out of the storm, but to have your faith increased so that you may walk upon these troubled waters. The same Lord who bade Peter come, and who caught him when he began to sink, will perfect that which concerns you. He is the glory of your strength; and in the end, when faith has done its perfect work, you shall see that the pruning knife was never wielded in vain.