October 14

“Three instances are recorded in which our Lord rebuked his disciples for lacking faith.  Yet in each case the circumstances seemed to call for anxiety as the only natural and proper response.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 9/30

One of the things I love about Hannah Whitall Smith is her ability to see things from a common sense perspective.  Here she has highlighted how common sense can lead us into a lack of faith.  This points out the need to distinguish between human “common sense” and spiritual “common sense”.  Humanly-speaking the disciples reacted with common sense when the storm arose.  Their experience of being in a storm-tossed boat quite naturally caused them to fear for their safety.  When Peter began to realize that he was walking across the water it was very normal for him to sink below waves because common sense tells you it’s not possible to walk on water.  But it’s different once we have Jesus.  We must set aside our human common sense and instead see things through spiritual common sense.  Jesus was subject to the laws of nature only as He chose to be.  He ate when He was hungry and slept when He was tired, yet the winds were at His command.  We must keep this in mind whenever we are tempted to doubt just because it doesn’t make “sense” to our human senses.  Otherwise, when Christ comes again, “common sense” will tell us it’s not really Him.

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.”  1 Thessalonians 4:16a