Have you ever read stories in the Bible about people who questioned God and who He is and what He can do? The disciples left all they had and followed Jesus. They were with Him night and day, watching Him do miracle after miracle. Yet, while in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and the disciples ran into a fierce windstorm out on the water. Now remember that some of these disciples had been fishermen by trade. They knew the water and they knew how to handle a boat. Luke 8 tells us the winds were so fierce that they were taking on water and “they were in jeopardy.” Where was Jesus during the storm? He was sleeping. So the disciples came and woke Him up and said, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” So Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and the waves and there was immediate calm. Then He said to the disciples, “Where is your faith?” They were in a boat with the creator of the universe – the one who made the wind and waves – and still they said to each other: “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” They still didn’t get it. If they had gotten it, then they would have known that the safest place to be in the entire universe was right where Jesus was.
What storms are you facing in your life today? A financial storm? Marriage storm? Parenting storm? Health storm? Job related storm? If you are at a place in your life where you are crying out to Jesus and saying, “Master, I am perishing,” then Jesus says, “My child, where is your faith?” If we genuinely trust Him, then we do not need to fear when the storms of life crash in on us. Isaiah 28:16 says, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.” 1 Samuel 2:2 says, ““There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” In Deuteronomy 32:4 we read, “ He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” In Matthew 7: 24-25, Jesus taught, ““Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.“
It can be easy to criticize the disciples for not knowing who Jesus was despite all the miracles and listening to His teaching every single day. But do we not do the same? When the storms come and life gets threatening, all the things that God has done for us in the past races right out of our memory as we become focused only on the storm we are going through right now. But today, Jesus is quietly whispering across our hearts and asking, “Where is your faith?” Stand on the firm foundation of Jesus. Trust that He is at work. Look for how He is deepening your faith and trust in Him and know that He only has your very best in mind for everything you face. He loves you and He’s there in the storm with you. Where is your faith?
God, it becomes so easy to forget all the times in the past where you held us in the palm of your hand and brought us through the storms of life. Thank you that you never leave us or forsake us. Thank you that you are always in the midst of life’s storms with us, working out your divine plan for each one us. Help us to stand strong in your faith and fully trust You, even when we don’t understand Your plan.
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