December 22, 2017 Friday Week 3 Day 6

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” Matthew 8:23–27

            How many times have you wondered if God was really there or if God was there was He just asleep in the boat?  The storms and troubles of life often threaten to swamp our little boats in the great sea of what we call life but often is just our attempt to exist.

            The disciples cry out to Jesus “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  You can almost hear the unspoken criticism that Jesus doesn’t really care!  When we are hurting it is easy to convince ourselves that God is asleep on duty.

            But Jesus turns the question of criticism back on us as He replies to us “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?”  Why are you afraid of the storms and not trusting that God is in your boat and will be with you?

            Recently my health fell apart and I had to leave the pastoral ministry and go on disability.  Some wondered why God didn’t heal me so that I could continue in ministry.  When I asked God if He would heal me from this He responded that He would heal me through this and not from this.

            Even as we lost so much we experience God’s blessing and so many times even before we knew to ask God met our needs and kept our little boat afloat. And so with me declare  “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”