Luke 8:22-25 “Now on one of those days Jesus and
His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the
other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they were
sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the
lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to
Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got
up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it
became calm. And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They
were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He
commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”” (NASB)
Having grown up in church, this story is one I was quite
familiar with. However, as I have been reading through Luke something stuck out
at me that I hadn’t noticed before. We think about the storm – and the imminent
danger it brings. We think about how Jesus remained asleep through this
terrible commotion. We think about Jesus and His power over the seas. We think
about the amazement of the disciples and wonder why they asked Jesus to help,
but then are in amazement when He actually does help – especially after all the
miracles they have already seen.
But what I have missed is the question of Jesus. He asked
them “where is your faith?”. Admittedly, I don’t know His precise intent of this
question. Is it because those on the boat told Him they were perishing and didn’t
ask for help? Or did Jesus ask because those on the boat shouldn’t have even
needed to ask for help – trusting that Jesus’ presence would bring about
protection because His work was not done?
Either way – it makes me think about how we view the storms
in our lives. Are we looking for them to all just end? Or are we willing to
trust that no matter how crazy the storm gets, it is about trusting God through
the storm and not just wanting to be out of the storm??
The presence and love of God is not about the absence of difficulty,
it is about the peace that trusting in Him brings while we walk through those
difficulties.
You have the most powerful advocate possible, trust Him!
Have a blessed day,
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