When The Storm Comes

“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8: 23-27

This passage is a great comfort to me. I believe there is a beautiful truth revealed in this story. But before we uncover this hidden gem, we should first take note of something.

In verse 23 we are told that Jesus got into a boat and His disciples followed Him. This is key to our own walk and relationship with Jesus. Just like the disciples of long ago, we too need to stay close and follow Jesus wherever He may lead us.

Does Jesus always lead us by the still waters found in Psalm 23:2? No, not always. Sometimes, like here in Matthew 8:24, He leads us to an oncoming storm.

We may find ourselves asking; “Why the storms and not just the still waters?” We need the storms along with the still waters to teach us to glorify Him in all things.

The reality is that just because we belong to Jesus and follow Him does not mean we will never have to face storms in our lives. But, (Now here is the treasure) because we belong to Jesus, we don’t have to be afraid of them!

 

In verse 26, when Jesus asked His disciples, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” He basically was asking them, “Why are you afraid when I’m right here with you? Why be afraid when I am in control?” Jesus knows who He is and He knows what He’s doing. Always.