Have you ever felt like there is so much happening in your life that you don’t know if you can even breathe? If one thing goes wrong, so does everything else. There have been those points in my life that I felt like I was drowning. I bet that’s how the disciples felt in Matthew 8.
“Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” -Matthew 8:23-24 NLT
Imagine this situation. You’re in a boat, and this enormous storm comes with massive waves and winds blowing so hard you can barely stand. Rain is pouring so hard that it is starting to hurt. The boat is swaying side to side causing you to feel sick. Being an expert sailor, you know that the conditions of this storm have the potential to destroy and sink the boat that you are in. Life, as you know it, is over; you’re going to die! You look over at Jesus, and he’s ASLEEP. Seriously? Who can sleep at a time like this?! Naturally, you stumble over to Jesus and wake him up, because if nothing else at least he can be awake as you all drown in the sea. But what does he say,
“The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.” -Matthew 8:25-26 NLT
I don’t know about the disciples, but if I were them, I would be highly offended at first. However, when Jesus said, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” I had to think about this. Am I like the disciples? Afraid and panicking that my little “lifeboat” is going to sink.
Maybe we are not sitting in an actual boat. But the boat is our life, and the storms surrounding us are the troubles that we experience. Sometimes those exhausting situations become so overwhelming to the point that we believe we will not be able to make it through. All the while we are praying for a resolution to the problem, but we feel Jesus is asleep on the job. It is not that he was ignoring the circumstances as much as he was in perfect peace and confident that everything will work out. He had faith in his father to know that the storm will pass. This is why Jesus became frustrated with the disciples. The disciples had witnessed all the miracles that Jesus had performed, but they did not have the faith that they would survive this storm.
What Jesus was saying to his disciples, ALL his disciples is to have faith in him to see you through your circumstance and your struggles. He is not asleep on the job. Jesus is asking all of us is to trust him that he will take care of you. He is the calm in your storm.
Candy McKee 