Matthew 8:23-27 23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 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. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
What can we learn from the disciples in this story? When they were in a panic, they woke Jesus up. It’s pretty amazing that He was sleeping through what brought terror to the disciples. He was at peace when the disciples were in panic. That in and of itself is telling. What is worth noting isn’t that Jesus was physically asleep in the story, but that Jesus was completely at rest. That’s the guy I want to follow! How about you?
Notice something with me that is new insight for me. Here it is: Jesus first spoke to the disciples before He spoke to the storm. Now, we know God stands outside of time and is engaged with us in time at the same time, but I think this particular series, the order of the way things went down, is pretty interesting. Jesus spoke first to the disciples, first to His people.
What if we are truly living in the last days, and what if before God would act in the current storms in our lives that He first wants to speak to His church? What if He has a Word for us that will impact what happens next not just for us as individuals but for the world? Are we listening to the voice of Jesus or are we more tuned in to the roar of the storm?
Just note that while the storm was still raging, before Jesus did anything about the situation, He spoke to the disciples about their faith.
He said to them, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
What if Jesus wasn’t commenting on the size of their faith in general, but what if He was commenting on the size of their faith in Him?
To be honest, we don’t really lack faith in many instances, do we? “What do you mean by that, Pastor Melissa?” What I mean is that we exercise faith every day. We have relied on our cars to take us from place to place. We have planned vacations and made flight reservations without thought. We have exercised confidence in our skills to acquire and excel in a job. We have been reasonably sure we could make decisions that would guarantee our success. We have trusted in the stock market to build wealth for us that would one day keep us in the lifestyles to which we have grown accustomed. Maybe faith isn’t our problem. Maybe it is the focus of our faith that is the issue?
What if Jesus wasn’t just telling the disciples they needed more faith, but what if He was suggesting their faith wasn’t appropriately directed to Him? Perhaps this is a time to really evaluate what and who we are living for? Is it the American dream or the will of God? I’m just asking because it seems the text gives me the opportunity to pose the question.
I suppose great faith in the stock market could cause great fear about now. I suppose great faith in our own ability to create a schedule that would ensure some kind of success could cause great fear about now. I suppose great faith in our network of friends that would give us a sense of belonging and fulfillment, now that we can’t be with those people like we have been in the past, could cause great fear about now. We are no longer in control of just our day to day. Anything we have put our faith in other than Christ is crumbling or being challenged or changed. Christ-followers, listen to me. There is only one certainty. It is Jesus. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. We dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
If we trust in ourselves and have gotten used to doing that, when the storm strikes we’ll realize our limitations. No experience, talent, or preparation can prepare you for the kind of storm the disciples found themselves in. It has to be a complete trust in Jesus and His ability to help get us through. During this time when some of those comforts and conveniences have been stripped away, let Jesus talk to you about where you have been placing your faith. Let’s be honest with ourselves. Let’s be honest with God. Have we been exercising lots of faith in ourselves and just some small token faith in Jesus just for some kind of spiritual insurance or is He truly our “all-in-all?”
