“One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them,
“Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.”
So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. Now a violent windstorm came down on the lake, and the boat started filling up with water, and they were in danger. They came and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are about to die!” So he got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they died down, and it was calm. Then he said to them,
“Where is your faith?”
But they were afraid and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!”
(NET)
Whilst I’ve not yet been on a boat on the lake, aka the Sea of Galilee, everything I’ve ever read or been told about it says that the weather is changeable due to the mountains surrounding it, and that the sudden storms that could easily fill small wooden boats with water are very common.
Sailing across the lake, Jesus and the disciples experience some of the infamous weather. Their boat starts to fill with water, there is a violent windstorm, and everyone was in danger.
Asleep, Jesus doesn’t seem to be too concerned despite everyone else’s worry. He’s woken and [rebukes] the wind and raging waves; they died down, and it was calm. Can you imagine? What must those on the boat have thought and felt? Luke tells us:
“…they were afraid and amazed, saying to one another,
“Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!”
All Jesus has to say is “Where is your faith?”. He had already told them they would reach the other side (v.22) so their fear, their doubt, and their trepidation was in direct contradiction of something Jesus said was a certainty.
Just think of areas in your life where you feel fear, doubt, anxiety, stress, or trepidation. Are they in tension with what Jesus has already said? Most often in our lives we find that when we are stressed, worried, anxious, or doubting it will be in direct contradiction with something that Jesus has already said. Consider these examples as we move forward in faith today:
Are you worried about what your future will bring?
Read Matthew 6.24-34
Are you stressed about making ends meet financially?
Read Philippians 4.19, Isaiah 58.11, and see the principle of Malachi 3.10
Do you doubt whether God is real, loving, and good?
Read the book of Job
If you have any other worries, doubts, stresses or questions, I’d love to hear from you and we can work through them together.
For more resources on the book of Job, click here.
James Travis 