Have you had any storms in your life? Most of us have. Perhaps you are in the midst of one right now or you are just through a storm.
Jesus’s disciples encountered a storm that was terrifying. In Matthew 8:23-27, we read: “AND WHEN HE GOT INTO THE BOAT, HIS DISCIPLES FOLLOWED HIM. AND BEHOLD, THERE AROSE A GREAT STORM ON THE SEA, SO THAT THE BOAT WAS BEING SWAMPED BY THE WAVES; BUT HE WAS ASLEEP. AND THEY WENT AND WOKE HIM, SAYING, ‘SAVE US LORD, WE ARE PERISHING’. AND HE SAID TO THEM, ‘WHY ARE YOU AFRAID, OF YOU OF LITTLE FAITH’. THEN HE ROSE AND REBUKED THE WINDS AND THE SEA, AND THERE WAS A GREAT CALM. AND THE MEN MARVELED, SAYING ‘WHAT SORT OF MAN IS THIS, THAT EVEN THE WINDS AND THE SEA OBEY HIM?’
Some things we might note from this incident are:
1 – The disciples were doing as Jesus had instructed them. (Matt.8:18). He gave orders to go to the other side. He meant for them to do as he had asked.
2 – The storm was real and the fishermen in the boat would have fully understood the peril and Jesus was asleep and to them seemed unaware of the danger.
3 – Their reaction was to wake Jesus and ask Him to save them which showed their faith in Him.
4 – Jesus surprises me with His response. He asks why they are fearful, and says they are “of little faithâ€.
5 – Jesus rises, rebukes both the winds and the sea and there is a great calm.
6 – The disciples are amazed and wonder who this can be that even the winds and seas obey Him.
There is a lot that we can learn from this event that is recorded in Scripture. Please come back tomorrow and read the lessons that I believe we can apply from this story in the Bible.