KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Storm
JESUS TOLD THE twelve to get into a boat on the Sea of Galilee...
As they started across the sea, everything was smooth and calm, and Jesus went to sleep. Suddenly a huge wind blasted on the sea and the boat began to be swamped with water. They awakened Jesus in great fear and said, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" (v. 24). They believed they were going to die right there on the water. Jesus woke up and told the wind and water to be still, and instantly the sea was as smooth as glass. At this point Jesus turned to the disciples and asked, "Where is your faith?" (v. 25). The disciples were now terrified, not of the storm that had stopped, but of the One who stopped the storm.
Why were they suddenly afraid? They had already witnessed so much power from Jesus. What was different on this occasion? The difference was that is was their storm. They were the ones in the boat this time. It was their lives on the line. They knew Jesus could take of the storms in someone else's life, but it was an entirely different issue when it was personal. People tend to do this all the time. Spiritual lives are destroyed because of the storm of family problems, or the storm of past sin, or the storm of sickness, or the storm of money troubles, ad infinitum. It is easy to tell someone else that they need to trust God to take care of them, but what about when it is my boat that is sinking? What do we do?
THOUGHT: If Jesus is with you, outside influences cannot enslave you, nor can they sink your boat (Rom. 8:31-39). Outside influences cannot take away eternity as long as you weather the storm. They may make life more difficult here, but they will not defeat you unless you allow them to do so. Jesus Himself suffered more than any of us, yet He was victorious because His focus was on God's eternal plan, not the immediate storm of life. The next time you are facing a storm, remember that He needs to be in the boat first, and then you will be successful in weathering whatever storm you are facing. (Terry Frizzell)
KneEmail: "But He said to them, 'Where is your faith?' And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, 'Who can this be?' For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!" ( Luke 8:25).