“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

Do you ever berate yourself for not trusting Jesus more? Something happens and you get scared and fearful. A new storm has arisen…. a cancer diagnosis, not enough money for what needs to be paid, or even a real storm like a tornado? Then, do you get down on yourself for being scared?

Well, I do too, and we are in good company my friends! Did you know that even the disciples did this? As I referenced the story of Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8, did you notice the disciple’s reaction?

Help! Help! Save us!! We are going to drown and die, and we do not know what to do!!! (My translation 😊)

Now, think about this for a minute. These are the disciples that had watched – in real time – Jesus perform many miracles!! Healing a leper (Matt. 8:1-4), healing a paralyzed man (Matt. 8:5-13), and EVEN Peter’s own mother-in law (Matt. 8:14-15) ….and yet they still were scared and questioning HOW to survive the storm.

That made me feel better today! We can be our harshest critics. My mind lately has been, “but what if this, and this and this”

….and then I remember, “Oh, yeah Jesus, you have always provided, You have done this…why am I so dumb to forget that?”

Do you think Jesus would say that to you? No, He gently reminded the disciples that they can increase their faith in Him. That He has proven to be trustworthy and has the power to take care of anything. He reminds them He is still the same One who has healed right in front of their own eyes, and His power is still there. They need not be afraid because He was with them.

We need not be afraid either. I get our human mind and body can go into fight or flight mode, and yet God can calm that and heal it too. We can process the trauma causing the fight or flight, we can breathe and release things back to Jesus. It is possible even today. And if God so feels it would grow His Kingdom, He can heal us right out today as well. He hasn’t lost that power.

The Sea of Galilee was not large, and yet because of its location major storms could come up at any moment – surprising the fishermen on the sea. One minute it is calm and the next there could be up to 20-foot waves. Yet, Jesus was with them so they shouldn’t have been afraid, and yet they were…even after seeing Jesus perform miracles.

What is the lesson I took away today? One I hope and pray you do as well. We all question the power of Jesus because it’s human. Yet, we can come back to how He has been faithful and how He has gotten us through storms before to know He has the power to see us through any new storms.

Let’s pray and ask God to continue to grow our faith and help us show grace to ourselves when we falter, because we are after all just human.

Father God,
Help me remember all you have done in this life. The provision you made when (list times God has provided for you), and the strength you provided when (list times God gave you strength you did not have.). Thank you for always being so gracious with me and help me to be gracious with myself when I fail to remember these times and get scared. Help me release all those fears back to You and trust You will come through whatever new storm has arisen. May it ultimately be a time I can share with others so You can be seen and glorified. Forgive me for my unbelief and continue to help my unbelief. You are still God and You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. I thank You that You are because it grounds me in a world gone crazy.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

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