“He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Matthew 8:26-27 (NIV)
The disciples were afraid for their lives, as they observed Jesus sleeping soundly in the midst of a violent storm. The boat was tossed about and rocked by water and waves. They finally woke Him up, shouting “Lord save us, we are perishing! ” Jesus called them out for submitting to the negative, without trusting in Him. They gave in to hopelessness, saying, “We are perishing!” As I read this, I wondered what words Jesus would prefer to hear from the disciples. Maybe He would rather be woken up with the words, “Jesus we’re trusting in you.”
I think about how often a storm has been so powerful that it’s easy to yield to a negative outcome. I may not be the only one who once called out to Jesus, “Lord, wake up, I am perishing!”
Jesus responded to the disciples saying, “You of little faith, why are you afraid?” Maybe He was upset that they ignored His actual presence in the boat, looking at the storm, instead of Him. Jesus seemed to think that the disciples should be secure with His Presence alone, whether He was awake or asleep. I believe He wants all of us to practice His Presence in every stormy situation. If it seems like He is sleeping in our boat, there’s no better way to wake Him than with words of faith.
It’s better to have Jesus sleeping next to us, than to be alone in a storm, because our hope, faith and confidence is grounded in “Who” is with us, more than “what” is against us.
The next verse of scripture is very exciting. When the wind and the waves suddenly become calm at the sound of His voice, the disciples asked “What kind of man is this, that the wind and the waves obey Him?”
I love that question…..What kind of man is this? He is the Lord, the Son of God, the Almighty, incarnated in a human body, that’s what kind of man Jesus is. There is no one else like Him, and we praise Him for being in our boat with us.
Every force of nature is under His control, because He is the most High God, so when He speaks to nature, in any form, whether it’s directed to the function of our bodies, or to the wind, fire, gravity or the splitting of an atom, His words must be obeyed. Since He has verbal control over all the laws of science and nature, we have nothing to fear.
I can visualize Jesus standing up in that shaky boat, as the picture attached shows, surrounded by wind and waves, then raising one hand toward the heavens, as He speaks a single phrase, rebuking the storm. Within His voice is power and authority, and a great calm suddenly comes over all.
In Mark’s gospel of this same scene, the phrase He spoke is “Peace, be still” and everything became calm. Whatever storm we go through today, Jesus is in the boat with us, even if He seems to be asleep. He is the Lord over all the natural forces and functions that affect us. He is the Lord who speaks to heal our bodies, our minds, and His words tear down strongholds in spiritual places. When He says “peace” there has to be peace. All He asks of us, is our faith and trust that His Presence is in the boat with us.
Lord, we trust you to speak to each of our storms today, and bring your perfect peace, calmness and healing to our body, mind, soul and spirit. Amen