Monday, May 12, 2025
One day he and his disciples got into a boat, and he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they were sailing he fell asleep. Then a fierce windstorm came down on the lake; they were being swamped and were in danger. They came and woke him up, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to die!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves. So they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, asking one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey him!” Luke 8:22-25.
Fearful and Amazed
One day Jesus and his disciples got into a boat to cross over to the other side of the lake. Jesus was tried after preaching and laid down and went to sleep. While they were crossing the lake a sudden storm came on them. Water was pouring into the boat, the waves were crashing into the boat, tipping it left and right, and the disciples were sure they were going to drown. They woke Jesus up and told him they were going to die, but Jesus got up and told the wind and the waves to be still – and they did. The disciples were fearful and amazed questioning who Jesus is that the wind and waves would obey him.
The disciples had seen Jesus perform miracles by this time. They had lived with him, sat at his feet as he told them the words of his Father. They did life together, yet they were afraid in the boat and amazed at his power over nature. Fearful, and amazed. I know I have felt that way. Fearful of my circumstances, or what could happen. Devastated by some events, my faith can freeze up. I can even begin to spiral out in my thinking with thoughts like, “I deserve this,” or, “God is not going to help me because I am not worthy.” Fearful of the wind and waves crashing against me. Fearful of the boat completely capsizing. Fearful of drowning. I pray, but I fret. Then when Jesus works everything out for my good and his glory, I am so amazed, wondering why I fall apart when he works it out every single time.
Jesus asked the disciples a question that day as they woke him up in a frenzy. He asked them “Where is your faith?” We have faith when everything is going well, but sometimes at the first hint of real trouble, we panic and our faith freezes. We don’t believe that Jesus is in the boat with us.
Storms will rage. There is no way around that in this life, but Jesus is always in the boat with us, protecting us from the wind and waves. We must learn to stand firm in our faith and find peace in him in the middle of the storms. Ask yourself this question next time the wind and waves are crashing into the boat – “Where is your faith?”
