Jesus Calms the Storm
"Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 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 8:23-27 (NIV)
Jesus is asking us to get in the boat, he is asking us to follow him. In our lives it can feel a little hard to follow him because to truly follow him we have to trust him, we have to have faith in him and give up our fears.
Here the disciples are going through a real physical storm, water sweeping over their entire boat in the middle of the lake. The point of the story is not that Jesus will protect you when there is a thunderstorm, but will be with you through the metaphorical storm in your life. We have all been or are going through a messy stormy time. Maybe your boyfriend broke up with you, your friends are far away, a loved one is really sick, when school starts homework never stops, your boss at work just doesn't get it, home is not a fun and safe place, you do not feel worthy or loved, your being pulled in too many directions. Whatever your storm is it is justified because you feel it. God does not compare your hardships to your neighbor so don’t measure or judge your struggles based on others.
Sometimes when we are going through these stormy times we can feel alone. We feel like God abandoned us, or maybe we didn’t know he was there in the first place. Either way there is silence. For the disciples on the boat, they feel the same way – they are frantic because Jesus is sleeping through this storm. They feel like he is leaving them to fend for themselves. If I was on that boat I would be a little skeptical of Jesus sleeping, thinking hmm maybe he has a plan or a test because this storm is crazy!
They call out to him and he awakes and says “you of little faith, why are you so afraid?” What is this faith?
Faith is: our relationship with God. Trusting in something that we can’t see and will never fully understand. It is giving up control and placing that with Jesus and God. It is trusting that what the Bible says is true. It is believing that God has a beautiful plan for our lives. It is faith that Jesus will be with us through the storm and calm it.
In your storm you feel like you are falling and Jesus says to you “you of little faith, why are you so afraid?” he doesn’t say oh let me fix it or here is what we are going to do. No he calls the disciples out, he says you of little faith. In the Common English version the verse reads “Why are you afraid, you people of weak faith?”
Jesus is not calling them out for the level of faith they have but for the fear that has seeped in and weakened their trust in him. He states they have little faith because their faith is overshadowed by the fear they carry. The same happens in our lives. This summer I am in a long distance relationship (until school starts again) and this fear seeped in and threatened my boyfriend and mine’s relationship with each other and God. We go to school together so we are watching each other’s backs, he is sweet and protective, and we take care of each other – now that we are miles away we can't do that as well. So when we do things without each other there is this fear that something will happen and the other cant fix it or protect or put back together the other. We fear instead of giving the other to God and trusting that God will protect them. That fear literally took my relationship and his relationship with God a step down, there was distance and there was also a distance between him and I.
We are allowed to be afraid of spiders. We are allowed to be afraid of the unknown but we CANNOT let that stop us from living. We CANNOT let that stop us from a relationship with Christ. We can instead turn that fear into faith and give all our worries to God. I know it is easier said than done. My boyfriend and I ended up pinpointing this fear and we talked about it, we turned to God and we prayed together. We realized we had to not only trust God with our own lives, but with each other’s.
Jesus was on the boat so I think the disciples where going to be okay, they were never alone even though they felt like they where -- just like we are never alone. But they had to call upon the Lord for him to take action. We must pray and ask for help. We must listen and follow what Jesus wants for our lives.
At the very end of the story the disciples cry out who is this guy that can control nature?! Till this point it is known that only God can control the elements so if Jesus can do it then that means that he really is God. That the trinity really is a thing That Jesus really is the Messiah. The Holy Spirit is all around us, Jesus lives in our hearts, and God is watching over us. Anywhere we go or anywhere we are in life the Lord is with us so we have no need to fear.
God is very found of each of you and Jesus is our rock when you are going through all this shit, and he is the loudest fan in your cheering section during your victory. If you have given your life to Jesus, or are curious about creating a relationship with him or want to grow in that relationship and are living for him you don’t have to be afraid either because Jesus is in control. And when you believe in him you also have the Holy Spirit to guide you – to guide you out of that fear and on the path of faith.
This story of Matthew calls us out – it makes us look into our lives, into our storm, at our fears and see where we are turning, are we turning to negative choices that only feel good for a moment or are we turning to faith and God? I look to the verse Jeremiah 29:11 as a comfort and a guide for retaining my faith through my storm.
He>i
~ Rachel
Questions to think about:
1. What is the storm I am going through or a storm I have been through. Did I feel God, did I eventually find him?
2. How do you define faith? Are you where you want to be in your relationship with God?
3. In what ways do you need to let go and let God? Where are you struggle to trust him and not fear.
4. This verse calls us out, going forward what verse can you find to comfort you in that fear, to push you in your faith, to encourage your relationship with Christ? (EX: for me it was Jeremiah 29:11)
If you have answers to those questions or more questions of your own, I would love to talk with you!
Comments