Jesus told his disciples to get into a boat and go to the other side of the lake. As they crossed the lake, they faced an intense storm, and their boat was filling with water. They were in danger of drowning. In the midst of all this, Jesus was sleeping. The disciples panicked and asked Jesus why he didn’t care that they were all about to die? Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith. Then he calmed the storm, and they soon reached the other side.
This event was an important lesson for the disciples, and it contains several key lessons for us.
Jesus is taking us to a destination, and we are going to reach that destination. However, in order to get there, we will have to go through some storms. We are not going to get through these storms in our own wisdom, strength, or ability; we will only get through them by the power of God. In order to reach our destination, we must keep trusting in God.
When storms come, we may be tempted to doubt God. The disciples didn’t believe that God would get them across the lake, even though Jesus said they would. Apparently, they didn’t really believe that Jesus was the Son of God, for if they believed that, then they would have believed that God would not let them all die on the lake before they could accomplish their purpose.
Difficult circumstances expose what’s in our hearts.
Fear can stop us from doing what we should do and get us to do things that will cause more problems. Fear opens the door to wrong decisions, mistakes, demons, and misunderstandings. When we are afraid, we often can’t think straight and may make bad choices. This can compound the problem. When we are facing a storm, we must keep going forward. Put one foot in front of the other. The disciples still needed to sail the boat and maybe bail water out from the boat. They needed to calmly wake up Jesus and ask for help. Fear can hinder us from doing what we need to do as we face the storm.
Furthermore, the disciples accused Jesus of not caring about them, implying that was the reason why he was allowing them to all die on the lake. When we face a crisis, it’s tempting to falsely accuse God of things that are not true. The troubles we face when following God are not a sign that God doesn’t love us. God does love us.
God said he would never leave us (Hebrews 13:5).
Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:39).
All things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28).
God is a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
During times of testing, Satan wants us to turn against God. He wants to make us think that our only real helper (God) is bad. If we turn against God in the middle of the storm, how will we get through the storm? If we forsake God, where will our help come from? God respects our free will, and if we refuse him, he won’t force us to be rescued.
God is never our enemy. He never does anything bad; he only does good. God is never to be blamed for anything because he is perfect. We should never think that anything is God’s fault because God is never at fault. We must rid our lives of all enmity, suspicion, and evil thoughts against God. If difficulties expose our wrong thoughts about God, then difficulties are opportunities for us to be delivered from lies.
The disciples believed the worst, and they thought they were going to die. But that was not true. They were believing a lie about their future and declaring a Satanic prophecy of destruction over their lives rather than God’s word. The power of life and death is in the tongue. Let’s speak words of life. “I will not die but live and declare the works of the Lord (Psam 118:17).
God’s people are not to believe the worst; we’re to believe the best. God has good plans for his people. Let’s trust in him.
We all face storms in life. How will we respond? Let’s respond in faith, not fear. Let’s not blame God or doubt his word. Let’s not believe the worst and be pessimistic. Be optimistic and hopeful, because God is good.
Through all challenges, it is important to stay humble. We must be willing to change things if needed. Maybe we got ourselves into a mess because of our own foolish choices. God may not bail us out if he’s trying to get us to change something. If we have a hole in our boat, we probably need to patch it up before we ask God for a miracle. The Holy Spirit will show us what we need to change as we ask him.
Storms will come. Jesus is trying to raise up people who will stay with him during the storms. Keep believing, keep trusting, and don’t give up. He’ll bring us through to the other side.
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