Where Is Your Faith Really Located?

#1

If podcasts aren't your thing, this one's for you. And if you've already listened to the episode, I think you'll enjoy slowing down and digging even deeper into what God was revealing through this message.

Last week, we talked about unmasking shame—how hiding was never part of God's design for us.

But once the mask comes off, another question begins to surface:

Where is your faith actually located?

Not where you say it is.

Not where you hope it is.

But where it reveals itself when life starts shaking.

This question completely changed the way I viewed my relationship with Jesus. A couple of years ago, I heard a message about the location of our faith, and it felt like one of those Holy Spirit moments where you just sit there thinking, Ouch... I needed that.

My prayer is that this message does the same for you.

The Disciples Had Already Seen the Impossible

When we read the story of Jesus calming the storm, it's easy to forget everything the disciples had already witnessed.

Before they ever stepped into that boat, they had watched Jesus call ordinary fishermen away from everything familiar.

Without hesitation, Simon, Andrew, James, and John left behind their nets, their livelihood, and their plans to follow Him.

Then things got wild.

They watched Jesus teach with authority unlike anything they'd ever heard.

They watched Him cast demons out of a man in the synagogue.

They watched Him heal Simon's mother-in-law with nothing more than a touch.

By sunset, crowds from the entire town had gathered outside the house, bringing everyone who was sick or demon-possessed. They watched miracle after miracle unfold right before their eyes.

And it didn't stop there.

They saw a man with leprosy instantly healed.

A paralyzed man lowered through a roof walk out carrying his own mat.

Jesus healed a man with a shriveled hand, preached throughout Galilee, challenged religious leaders, and demonstrated over and over again that nothing was impossible for Him.

Imagine witnessing all of that.

Imagine seeing Jesus perform miracle after miracle with your own eyes.

You'd probably think your faith was rock solid.

The disciples probably did too.

Until the Storm Came

Luke 8 tells us that after teaching the crowds, Jesus looked at His disciples and simply said,

"Let's cross over to the other side of the lake."

So they climbed into the boat.

Jesus—completely at peace—fell asleep.

Then the storm came.

Not a drizzle.

Not a little rain shower.

A violent storm.

Waves crashing.

Water pouring into the boat.

Experienced fishermen suddenly convinced they were about to die.

Meanwhile...

Jesus was asleep.

That detail has always amazed me.

The wind was screaming.

The waves were crashing.

Fear was rising.

And Jesus rested peacefully.

The disciples woke Him in complete panic.

"Master! Master! We're going to die!"

Can I be honest?

I've prayed prayers that sounded a whole lot like that.

Maybe you have too.

Everything feels manageable when life is going according to plan.

When finances line up.

When relationships are healthy.

When the kids are behaving.

When you can clearly hear God speaking.

It's easy to trust Him on the mountaintop.

But valleys?

Storms have a way of exposing what mountains can hide.

When life starts unraveling...

When the diagnosis comes.

When anxiety won't let you sleep.

When your marriage feels strained.

When your finances don't make sense.

When you're praying and all you hear is silence...

That's when the location of your faith becomes visible.

Not because God is trying to shame you.

But because He loves you enough to reveal what you've unknowingly been placing your security in.

Fear Reveals the Location of Our Faith

Here's what the Holy Spirit showed me.

The disciples didn't suddenly stop believing in Jesus.

They had already left everything to follow Him.

They had faith.

But in the middle of the storm...

their faith shifted.

Instead of resting in the One who was in the boat with them, they began trusting what their circumstances were telling them.

Their fear wasn't the problem.

Their fear simply revealed where their faith had moved.

And if I'm honest...

I've done the exact same thing.

I've stood in church with my hands raised, declaring Jesus as the Master of my life.

Then twenty minutes later, worried myself sick over my bank account.

Without realizing it, I'd allowed my circumstances to become my master instead.

That's why Jesus asked them one simple question:

"Where is your faith?"

Notice what He didn't ask.

He didn't ask if they had faith.

He asked where it was.

Because faith can still exist while being placed in the wrong thing.

In Part 2, we'll look at why Jesus rebuked the storm, what He was really trying to teach His disciples, and how storms become opportunities for transformation instead of just miracles.

#2

Jesus Was Never Just Calming the Storm

If you're a parent, I want you to think about something with me for a minute.

Our job as parents is usually one of two things: teaching ignorance or correcting rebellion.

If my child genuinely doesn't know something is wrong, my first responsibility isn't punishment—it's instruction. They need someone to lovingly teach them the right way.

But if they already know what's right and choose otherwise, that's a different conversation. That calls for correction because ignoring it only reinforces the behavior.

I've realized something beautiful over the years...

Jesus did the exact same thing.

Throughout the Gospels, He instructed ignorance and corrected rebellion. Every response was intentional. Every lesson had a purpose.

So when we get to Luke 8 and Jesus wakes up in the middle of the storm, notice what happens.

He doesn't panic.

He doesn't scramble.

He simply speaks.

"Peace. Be still."

Immediately, the wind stops.

The waves settle.

Everything becomes calm.

But the miracle wasn't the end of the lesson.

In many ways...

it was just the beginning.

The Question That Changed Everything

After calming the storm, Jesus turns to His disciples and asks,

"Where is your faith?"

For years, I read that verse as if Jesus was disappointed in them.

Almost like He was saying,

"Really? After everything you've seen, you still don't have faith?"

But one day, the Holy Spirit helped me see something I'd completely overlooked.

Jesus didn't ask,

"Do you have faith?"

He asked,

"Where is your faith?"

That one word changes everything.

If I walked up to you and asked, "Where is your husband?" you wouldn't assume I was questioning whether you were married.

I'd already know you have a husband.

I'm simply asking where he is.

The same is true here.

Jesus already knew the disciples had faith.

After all, they had left everything to follow Him.

The issue wasn't whether faith existed.

The issue was where they had placed it.

Somewhere between the miracles and the storm...

their faith had quietly shifted.

Instead of resting in Jesus, it had become anchored to circumstances.

As long as life felt predictable, they felt secure.

But when the wind picked up...

their confidence disappeared.

Isn't that exactly what happens to us?

We don't usually realize where our faith has been resting until something shakes the foundation.

Storms Reveal What Calm Seasons Can Hide

I'll never forget sitting in what felt like the darkest season of my life.

I begged God to remove the pain.

I begged Him to answer my prayers.

I begged Him to fix everything that felt broken.

And what I heard...

was silence.

At the time, I couldn't understand it.

If God loved me, why wasn't He rescuing me?

Why wasn't He speaking?

Why wasn't He making the pain disappear?

Looking back now...

I see that if God had simply removed the storm, I might have missed the transformation.

Because Jesus has never been interested in performing miracles just so we can move on unchanged.

He wants to transform our hearts.

He wants to strengthen our faith.

He wants to become the foundation we stand on—not just the One we call when everything falls apart.

Sometimes the greatest miracle isn't that the storm ends.

Sometimes the greatest miracle is who we become while we're walking through it.

Your Faith Needs Something That Doesn't Move

So here's the question I want you to wrestle with today:

Where is your faith located?

Is it anchored in Jesus?

Or is it anchored in the absence of storms?

Because those are two very different things.

Maybe your faith has slowly become attached to...

Your finances.

Your marriage.

Your health.

Your job.

Your plans working out.

Feeling in control.

Understanding what God is doing.

Those things may feel steady for a season.

But every single one of them can change overnight.

Jesus never does.

Real faith isn't built on life making sense.

It's built on the unchanging character of Christ.

When your faith is anchored to Him, the storms don't disappear.

The diagnosis may still come.

The heartbreak may still happen.

The uncertainty may still remain.

But you begin walking through those storms differently.

Not because the waves are smaller...

but because your Savior is greater.

Coming in Part 3: We'll talk about one of the biggest lies Christians believe about faith, why fear isn't the enemy we think it is, and four practical steps to relocate your faith back to Jesus.

#3

Fear Doesn't Mean You've Failed

One of the biggest lies I think Christians believe is this:

"If I had more faith, I wouldn't be afraid."

Can I tell you something that completely changed the way I view fear?

That's simply not true.

Think about the disciples.

They had Jesus physically sitting in the boat with them.

They had watched Him heal the sick, cast out demons, preach with authority, and perform miracle after miracle.

Yet when the storm came...

they were terrified.

The presence of fear wasn't their problem.

The location of their faith was.

Fear isn't always a sign that you've failed.

Sometimes it's simply revealing where your faith has quietly drifted.

The real question isn't, "Do I feel afraid?"

The question is,

"What am I going to do with that fear?"

Will I allow fear to lead me?

Or will I let it remind me to relocate my faith back to Jesus?

Four Ways to Relocate Your Faith

Relocating your faith isn't a one-time decision.

It's something we have to choose over and over again.

Here are four practical ways to begin.

1. Identify Where Your Faith Has Been Sitting

This one requires honesty.

Has your peace become dependent on your circumstances?

On another person's choices?

On your finances?

On feeling in control?

For years, I believed that if I could just control everything, I could avoid disappointment.

If I planned enough...

Prepared enough...

Worked hard enough...

Then maybe nothing could hurt me.

But all that control really did was keep me living in constant anxiety.

Fight-or-flight became my normal.

The truth is, control feels safe...

Until life reminds you that you were never actually in control to begin with.

Only Jesus is.

2. Identify the Lie

The enemy loves whispers.

"God doesn't care."

"You're all alone."

"He's forgotten you."

"This is too much."

I know those whispers because I've believed them before.

In November of 2022, I wrote these words in my journal:

"I pray for God's help, and I'm only met with deafening silence."

I remember feeling completely shattered.

I wasn't pretending anymore.

I wasn't trying to be strong anymore.

I genuinely believed God had gone quiet.

Looking back, I can see those thoughts weren't truth.

They were lies fueled by pain.

Friend, don't build your faith on thoughts that don't agree with God's Word.

Ask Him to reveal the lies you've believed.

Then replace them with His truth.

3. Remember Who's in the Boat

This may be the simplest reminder...

but it's often the one we forget first.

Jesus never left the boat.

He wasn't surprised by the storm.

He wasn't unaware of the waves.

He wasn't scrambling to come up with a plan.

He was there the entire time.

The same is true for you.

Your storm may have caught you off guard.

It didn't catch God off guard.

He is still with you.

He is still working.

Even when He seems quiet.

4. Choose Trust Before the Storm Ends

This one is the hardest.

Because we naturally want peace after everything gets better.

But Jesus often teaches us peace before circumstances change.

One of my favorite stories is found in Mark 9.

A desperate father brings his demon-possessed son to Jesus after the disciples are unable to help him.

When Jesus tells him that everything is possible for the one who believes, the father responds with one of the most honest prayers in all of Scripture:

"I believe; help my unbelief!"

I love that prayer because it reminds us something incredibly freeing.

Faith and doubt can exist in the same heart.

You don't have to pretend.

You don't have to clean yourself up before coming to Jesus.

You can bring every question...

Every fear...

Every ounce of uncertainty...

Straight to Him.

I've prayed that prayer more times than I can count.

"Lord, I believe... but help the places where I still struggle to trust You."

And every single time...

He has met me there.

Faith Is Built Before the Miracle

Sometimes we think faith comes after we see God move.

But Scripture shows us something different.

Faith grows while we're waiting.

While we're trusting.

While we're walking through storms that haven't calmed yet.

That's where deep roots are formed.

That's where lasting transformation happens.

And that's where we discover that Jesus was never asking us to have perfect faith.

He was simply inviting us to place the faith we do have...

in the only One who has never failed.

Coming in Part 4: We'll end with one of my favorite personal stories—why I had the words "Relocate Your Faith" permanently written on my arm, what my grandmother taught me about unwavering faith, and the encouragement I hope you'll carry with you long after you finish reading.

#4

A Reminder I'll Carry Forever

If there's one thing we can all count on in this life, it's this:

You're either entering a storm...

In the middle of a storm...

Or just coming out of one.

Storms are part of living in a broken world.

But here's the good news:

Jesus being silent does not mean He is absent.

For a long time, I struggled with God's silence.

I wanted answers.

I wanted direction.

I wanted Him to remove the pain and show me exactly what He was doing.

Instead...

I heard what felt like deafening silence.

Then one day, I heard something that completely changed my perspective.

A teacher doesn't talk during the test.

Think back to your school days.

Before the test, your teacher explained the lesson.

They answered your questions.

They walked you through the material over and over again.

But once the test began...

They became quiet.

Not because they didn't care.

Not because they'd abandoned you.

But because it was time for you to remember what they had already taught you.

I can't help but wonder if that's exactly what God was doing in some of my hardest seasons.

While I was begging Him for answers...

Perhaps He was gently reminding me,

"BreAnn... we've already talked about this. I've shown you who I am. I've been faithful before, and I'll be faithful again. Remember what I've taught you."

Sometimes His silence isn't rejection.

Sometimes it's an invitation to trust what we've already learned about His character.

The Gift My Grandmother Gave Me

There's someone very special in my life I call my grandmother.

Her name is Diane.

She's not my biological grandmother, and somehow that makes her love even more meaningful to me.

When my mom was just seventeen years old with a six-month-old baby—me—Diane opened her home to us.

She didn't have to.

She chose to.

And for my entire life, she has shown me what unwavering faith looks like.

Not just by what she says...

But by how she lives.

She's the person our family turns to when life feels uncertain because we've watched her turn to Jesus again and again.

After hearing a message about relocating our faith, I knew I wanted a permanent reminder.

So I asked Diane to write four simple words on a small piece of paper:

Relocate your faith.

Those four words, written in her beautiful cursive handwriting, became something incredibly meaningful to me.

I took that little piece of paper to a tattoo artist and had her handwriting tattooed on my arm.

Now, before anyone panics...

I'm not telling you to run out and get a tattoo.

In fact, if Diane had known what I planned to do with that piece of paper, she probably would have never written it for me!

But I can tell you this...

There have been countless moments when anxiety started creeping back in.

Moments when fear felt louder than peace.

Moments when I caught myself focusing more on the storm than the Savior.

And every single time...

I look down at my arm.

There it is.

Relocate your faith.

It's a simple reminder that my peace was never meant to rest in my circumstances.

It was always meant to rest in Christ.

Find Your Reminder

Maybe your reminder doesn't need to be permanent.

Maybe it's a sticky note on your bathroom mirror.

Maybe it's a note taped to your dashboard.

Maybe it's the wallpaper on your phone.

Maybe it's written in the front of your Bible.

Whatever it looks like...

Give yourself something that points you back to Jesus when life starts pulling your attention somewhere else.

Because storms have a way of making us forget what we know to be true.

Sometimes we simply need something that reminds us to look back to the One who never changes.

So...Where Is Your Faith?

As we close, I want to leave you with the same question we've been asking throughout this entire message.

Where is your faith located?

Not where you wish it was.

Not where it was yesterday.

Where is it today?

If you realize it's been resting in something temporary...

Don't carry shame.

Don't beat yourself up.

Simply relocate it.

Place it back at the feet of Jesus.

Because your safety has never been found in the absence of storms.

It's always been found in His presence.

The waves may still come.

The wind may still blow.

But when your faith is anchored to the Rock, you'll discover something the disciples were about to learn:

The safest place you can ever be...

is in the boat with Jesus.

Final Thoughts

Friend, if you're walking through a storm today, I hope this encourages you to take an honest look at where your faith has been resting.

God isn't asking you to have perfect faith.

He's asking you to place the faith you do have in the only One who has never failed.

If this blog encouraged you, I'd love for you to share it with someone who needs the reminder that Jesus is still in the boat.

And if you'd rather listen than read, this message is also available on the Wholly Unmasked podcast. I pray it reminds you that no matter what storm you're facing, you can always choose to relocate your faith.