“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.” (Matthew 8:25-26 NLT)
Notice a few things in the verses above. First, for the disciples, their drowning was a foregone conclusion. When they went to Jesus, they’d done everything in their power to save themselves. Among them were veteran fishermen who had faced storms like this before, but, apparently, none of this magnitude or intensity.
In their minds, had it not been for Jesus being in the boat, they would have been out of options. We have to believe they exhausted every course of action before disturbing Him, but in desperation they “went and woke Him up, shouting…” Remember, this is still in the early days of Jesus’ ministry, but these men of faith weren’t novices. Most had been Jewish believers and they’d seen miracles and spent several days under the Lord’s instruction. Yet, when this powerful storm hit it’s like their faith was just blown away. It was like they immediately forgot everything they’d ever known about faith and trust in God. Sound familiar?
Another observation. Did you notice at the disciple’s initial shouting out their fears and seeking the Lord’s saving intervention, Jesus responded to them with a simple question and a profound observation: “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” And it was only after this brief interaction that the Bible says: “Then He got up and rebuked the wind and waves.” Did you catch that? “THEN!” He wasn’t in any hurry to jump up and do anything.
Jesus didn’t even sense enough danger to rise from His resting place while His friends were having a royal freakout! How could He be so calm? The wind was howling, the boat was obviously being tossed like a rag doll. Why wasn’t HE afraid? The answer is actually very simple. The disciple’s initial conclusion was death by drowning because of their lack of faith. Jesus’ certain conclusion was death of the storm by His strong command!
What’s our takeaway? Faith is not a “one-and-done” process. We don’t say a prayer and immediately become a faith “superhero.” Faith is a journey that demands a learning curve that takes years. We don’t know the exact length of time between the storm on the lake and the disciple’s deaths, but, other than Judas, who betrayed the Lord and hanged himself, and John, who died of natural causes, each of the other disciples died a martyr’s death.
What does that mean? It means their faith grew to enable them to trust the Lord with their very lives. Their faith didn’t waver in the face of the threat of their life, quite unlike their faith in the face of the storm. Their faith had grown and matured to enable them to lay down their lives rather than deny their Savior. Are you there yet? Am I? We may not know with certainty until we face similar circumstances, but we must continually entrust to the Lord our day-to-day concerns that are either building our faith up or tearing it down.
Mark Dever makes an interesting observation when he writes: “The victory we are often granted is not the shortening of the trial but the lengthening of our faith.” Our faith often seems strong until the trial drags on, and with the “howling of the wind and the raging of the sea”our faith falters. Keep the faith, courageous faith warrior! Put your trust in the same Jesus who calmed the sea for the disciples, knowing He will calm your storm when your faith lesson is learned.
Sea still raging? Keep trusting!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 