Faith over Fear

Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm stuck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:23-27 [NASB])

I came across this passage the other night while reading in Matthew. As I was reading it, it made me think about how we are when we experience something hard or are experiencing our own storms in our lives. We are the ones feeling every bit of the challenges we are experiencing, and we are feeling every wave hit against us that causes us to become terrified, upset, depressed, helpless, etc. We may feel like we are stuck in this boat in the middle of this body of water with no way to escape. Sometimes when I have felt every bit of the “storm” I was going through I also felt like Jesus was just sleeping away and had no regard to my pain or suffering I was feeling. I have come to a point multiple times in my life where I cannot take it anymore and I have to just say “Lord, help me!” to allow him to come in and fix what I cannot. To allow him to battle the storm that wasn’t even mine to do anyway, which is basically what the disciples did. They were scared, panicking, and thought there was no way out. But what I find interesting is that they had the man in the boat with them. I assumed they would know that they probably wouldn’t die since he was there, but they didn’t have enough faith to just be patient and pray. Instead, they woke him up scared and asking for his help.

This passage is in chapter 8, which means they been following Jesus for some time now and have seen this man do so many miracles and healings. They also were already given The Sermon on the Mount which taught them so much on how to live their lives. But they are humans (much like us) and every time they felt another wave hit the boat, the lightning strike, and the thunder rumble, they allowed fear to fill them up to the point that they feared their lives and woke Jesus up to save them.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we need to battle our storms. Jesus wants you to “wake him up” by calling on Him for His help. He is there for us to help us take on all our fears, problems, complications, etc. But what He is saying to his disciples and us is that if we would have faith in Him and believe that He would keep us safe, help our situation, heal us, give us patients in our storms, then we wouldn’t have to endure feeling the anxiety, depression, hurt, and pain the waves of life are slamming us with. We would be able to have a peace that surpasses all comprehension (Philippians 4:6) and joy to help us make it through each day. Our faith can and should be bigger than any obstacle that life throws at us. If we can believe in God and the capabilities He can do in our lives, then we wouldn’t have to worry about all the stress, anxiety, and worry that we experience day in and out.

All Jesus had to do to calm the storm was to tell it to stop. He didn’t have to have specific words or things to do before it would stop. He has so much power over any situation and is able to do anything possible. We sometimes think we can do all things, but God is quick to show us we are not meant to do his job, His job is bigger than we can imagine. So, next time you are in your “storm” and the boat is rocking, its ok to cry out to God to help, but also have a little faith that he is already with you in the boat and never left you alone in the first place.

Much Love,
Charity