But as they were sailing, He fell off to sleep. And a whirlwind revolving from below upwards swept down on the lake, and the boat was filing with water and they were in great danger. And the disciples came and woke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! And He, being thoroughly awakened, censured and blamed and rebuked the wind and the raging waves: and they ceased, and there came a calm. And He said to them, [Why are you so fearful?] Where is your faith (your trust, your confidence in Me – in My veracity and My integrity)? And they were seized with alarm and profound and reverent dread, and they marveled saying to one another, Who then is this, that He commands even wind and sea, and they obey Him. Luke 8:23-25
This story always amazes me and it’s what I have been thinking about today. The disciples were in real danger. There lives were at risk. So their answer is totally normal. But why would Jesus answer them like that. Why did He equate their fear as a lack of faith in Him? When your life is in mortal danger the normal response would be to respond the way they did or is it? That got me thinking. Is it that, God wants us to look to Him first no matter what trouble comes? What is your natural reaction when trouble comes? Let me give you an example of what i am talking about. A lot of change has been happening at work and the first time I was told I freaked out! I was so scared. I was thinking about moving jobs and I was thinking about how I would not be able to meet the new standards. “I am in deep trouble”, I told myself! Extreme, yes!! But that is what was going through my mind. My situation was serious and the changes were happening but the way I was reacting was not in faith. I really felt challenged about trusting God in this situation. Instead of allowing all the negative thoughts to come I felt challenged to bring the situation to Him and simply trust Him to help me. I hope that makes sense in context of the scripture I shared.
God wants us to look to Him all the time. As hard as it is and in the face of real dangers He wants us to learn to call Him first. Responding in fear just shows our lack of faith in His power. The fact that Jesus was on the boat made the difference. Jesus has saved us and calls us His sons and daughters and that makes all the difference. It is understandable if a non-christian doesn’t call on God because they have no one to help them but we don’t have an excuse. We have a Savior and He gave His life for us. Let us trust Him completely for help.
Rolain
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