In reading Matthew 8 there are many accounts of Jesus. He starts by cleansing a leper, then honors the faith of the centurion, heals many, calms the storm, and casts out demons. He met the needs of the people and made a lasting impression on them and those who witnessed His miracles. Word spread quickly about this man who could do miracles and cast out demons.
While all the accounts are so good, I love the account of Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8:23-27. The Sea of Galilee is not your typical body of water. It is a small body of water but it is 150 feet deep and surrounded by hills. The winds can whip up in a matter of minutes and suddenly your life is in danger. Storms pop up out of nowhere. The disciples didn’t leave land knowing the weather was going to be bad. They were fishermen and were very aware of the potential danger. I’m sure they had heard stories about fisherman before them that got caught in the storms on the Sea of Galilee and didn’t make it out alive. When this storm hit they experienced real human fear. They felt helpless in the midst of the harsh winds and treacherous waves. And Jesus had the audacity to sleep while they were fighting for their lives! The disciples were frantic and woke him up saying “save us Lord, we are perishing!”. Instead of hopping up and immediately calming the sea and the wind, Jesus allowed the storm to teach them about faith. He asks “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”. He was exposing their natural response to fear in order to teach them where to put their faith in times of fear. Jesus was challenging the disciples to look at life differently – through the lens of Jesus being present. They hadn’t experienced what it was like to look beyond their current situation and trust Him. Jesus was with them and after reminding them of His presence he proceeded to calm the storm and they were amazed!
While the disciples experienced an actual storm, our personal storms can be anything that cause our heart to stop and our adrenaline to pump. It can be finances, relationships, kids, health, work, driving on the freeway. Any one of these things can elicit a fear response in us. There are a lot of things to be fearful of in the world today. Jesus is saying that we don’t have to be fearful about the things happening around us because we have Him. God shows his power through these tests of faith by calming the storm so our eyes might be open to see that we are covered by the grace and the wisdom of God. He is working. Our human eyes cannot see the whole story.
This was a great reminder for me today as I have a few things that elicit a fear response in my life. It seems so cliche and “Christianese” to say “just have faith and everything will be OK”! But it isn’t cliche to know Jesus and really trust Him with your future and moments of fear. While the situation may not change, he has the power to calm our racing hearts and settle our minds. It may appear that He is sleeping as we experience our moments of fear, but we can cry out to Him as the disciples did saying, “save me Lord, I am perishing” and He will calm the storm. The more we practice trusting Him the more we will see Him.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.
Shelly