Luke 8:22-25 Wind and Wave Obey Jesus
Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed, He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
What can be simpler than a short passage on the Sea of Galilee? An hour or so, and Jesus and the disciples will be at their destination. But there’s a major problem. The valleys in the mountains to the east of the Sea of Galilee run east to west, forming natural wind tunnels that cause hurricane-force winds to descend onto the lake without warning. The sun might be shining and the sky might be blue, but howling winds can still appear suddenly, swamping small boats.
Jesus is in the bottom of the boat, sleeping on the leather pillow that is traditionally kept there when one of these storms suddenly descends, churning the water into froth. Is Satan moving this wind, trying to drown Jesus? Perhaps. At any rate, the disciples are justly terrified, for now the boat is filling with water faster than they can bail it out.
Panicked, the disciples grab Jesus by the shoulder and shake him awake. “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Jesus wakes up, realizing that his gown is now soaked by the water that has come in over the sides of the boat. Standing and holding out his hands, Jesus tells the wind and the waves to be still. Suddenly, there is an eerie calm. The disciples realize they are so close to shore that they can hear birds singing. Flowers are blowing in a gentle breeze, and there isn’t a cloud in the sky.
Awe-struck, the disciples turn to Jesus. Make no mistake, these men know how dangerous these ferocious storms are; after all, they have lost many friends whose small boats have been swamped. Jesus smiles at the disciples and asks, “Where is your faith?” What are these men supposed to reply? A few minutes ago, the boat was about to sink and they were about to die. While these men have seen Jesus do miracles, those miracles were all on land, not water. Certainly, the disciples have watched Jesus heal people and cast out demons, but control the wind and the waves? That’s a whole different matter. Luke tells us, “And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
God allows storms! Let me repeat that more emphatically. GOD ALLOWS STORMS!!! There are storms of ill health, financial loss, job loss, alienation within families, and all kinds of other problems. Many times, we may feel that God has handled other people’s storms all right, but ours is different, ours is more complicated and challenging. Sure, God has helped some of our friends, but our storm is so terrible that perhaps the power of an almighty God will fail….Or perhaps the problem is us.
In this story, Jesus asks his disciples, “Where is your faith?” Where is our faith? Do we believe God can only handle small stuff but we fear some problems are too big for him?
Jeremiah 32:27 tells us, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” The story behind this verse is worth remembering. Jeremiah is imprisoned in the king of Judah’s house and closely guarded. God tells Jeremiah that one of Jeremiah’s relatives is going to come to him, offering him the opportunity to purchase some of the family land in Anathoth and that Jeremiah should do it as a sign that land deals will eventually be carried out again. Jeremiah argues with the Lord. “‘Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!And You have said to me, O Lord God, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ” (Jeremiah 32:24-25)
This is when God reminds Jeremiah that nothing is too difficult for Him. We see things in the short term while God sees the end from the beginning. If God does not allow a storm to overtake Jesus and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples will fail to realize that Jesus has power over nature as well as over sickness, disease, demons, and death.
My father suffered from chronic depression for most of his life. In July 1955, my father suffered severe injuries in a near-fatal car accident; in fact, he had a near-death experience in which he saw his relatives in heaven before returning to his broken body. This “storm” had several long-lasting effects. My father may have been near-suicidal at that point; however, the outpouring of love from his home community was overwhelming.
At one point, the walls of Dad’s hospital room were covered with get-well cards from family and friends. Dad would look at those cards and weep for joy. That fall, local farmers helped get in the harvest. Many families sent food so Mom wouldn’t have to cook while she was running to the hospital. My parents had been agonizing over whether to expand our dairy operations; this accident caused them to sell off most of our milk cows just as the dairy industry was moving toward factory-size operations. I also believe that this accident helped my parents decide for Mom to return to college to complete her Bachelor’s degree to teach. Mom taught high school and junior high English for fifteen years, blessing innumerable children in the process.
We have friends who have been enduring a storm for the last several months. Our pastor friend suffered severe gall bladder and pancreatic infections in a remote part of Guatemala. After weeks in a hospital in Guatemala, our friend is now back in Upstate New York, but the crises just keep coming. All any of us can do is to pray that Jesus calms this storm as he has so many others.
Perhaps you are in the midst of a storm, and you feel that God has abandoned you. NEVER! God will never abandon us! God may take you through untold suffering, but he is still in the boat with you. God hasn’t bailed out of your boat. And God doesn’t play favorites. You can ask Jesus to help you just as he did the disciples. God still calms storms.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are facing giant storms and we need Your help and deliverance. Please calm our hearts and reassure us that You are still working and that You will never leave us or forsake us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment