Luke 8:22-25 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. (23) But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. (24) And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. (25) And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
While the Bible has countless examples and encouragement for us to have faith in difficult times, it is encouraging to see that, even those that walked and talked with Jesus daily, saw him do countless miracles and experienced his power on a personal level, had times of fear and distrust. It is easy for us to be hard on ourselves for not being as strong as we should, but we need to realize that faith is a process. Faith takes time. Faith requires substantive growth.
In our text today, we find that Jesus and his closest followers are on a ship crossing over to the other side of the lake. While it was quiet, Jesus found it a prime opportunity to get some much needed rest. During his slumber, a severe storm arose and the passage tells us that they were in jeopardy. I would imagine, that due to the fact that several of these men were professional fishermen, it had to have been a fierce storm to terrify them. And terrified they were!. They went and woke up Jesus to inform him that they were about to perish. Sometimes we use such language as hyperbole to emphasize a though spot. However, I think they were giving a literal assessment as to how they perceived their situation.
Notice now Jesus’ reaction. Once he stilled the storm he asked them ”Where is your faith?” Was Jesus being too hard on them? Didn’t they have a right to be scared? Certainly fear is natural, but we should not abandon our faith in the process.
To understand this concept, we need to refresh our understanding of what faith is.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Faith is based upon knowledge and understanding of God’s truths. So what was the truths that they ignored when they panicked?
Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
These men knew better than anyone that Jesus was the son of God and that he had a unique purpose on this earth that was not fulfilled. They should have known that God was not going to let his son perish on that boat.
Don’t get me wrong. I am NOT saying that I would not have been scared or that I would have done things any different. What I am saying is that this is a great opportunity to learn the lesson that Jesus is teaching us. When we are dealing with a difficult situation, we need to learn from these men. We need to stop and think about what we believe...about what we know....and rely on God’s promises.
Reflecting the SON,
Dennis Hogan
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
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