The Storms

Matthew 8: 23-27

Jesus got back into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord save us! We’re going to drown!!”

He replied, “you of little faith, why are you so afraid?”

Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!”

As before, we must look at this passage in the context of which it was written and THEN we can bust it apart line by line if we want to!

This passage follows the disciples witnessing many miracles done by Jesus. They watched Him heal people. They have listened to Him preach countless sermons including a slightly famous one titled The Sermon on the Mount.

The disciples have left their homes, their jobs, their families to follow Jesus because they KNEW He was special.

They KNEW He was no ordinary teacher.

They KNEW He was no ordinary rabbi.

Matthew 7:29 writes that He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

They climbed onto a small boat that the 13 of them could fit snugly, yet safely, into so they could cross the Sea of Galilee. These guys were fisherman and accustomed to the tumultuous weather patterns that plagued this little body of water. They were also equipped to manage this boat they were in because they were familiar with this style of sailing.

The Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide, but it is 150 feet deep at its deepest with the shoreline being 680 feet below sea level. Storms could spring up rapidly over the surrounding mountains and stir the water to having waves up to 20 feet high!

When they began their journey, Jesus had finished teaching a large crowd, the water was calm, so off they went. The water was so calm and the day so satisfactory, Jesus FELL ASLEEP in the boat.

He was relaxed as could be….just sailing with his buddies after a good days work.

Let’s read the passage again:

Jesus got back into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord save us! We’re going to drown!!”

He replied, “you of little faith, why are you so afraid?”

Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!”

What stands out to you?

1. “Without warning, a sudden storm came up…”

How many times in life has THAT happened? Life is just cruising along when SUDDENLY – WHAM!! A storm!

A few years ago, life was pretty stressful, and we thought we had all we could handle on our plate…and believed we were handling it: all things considered.

Then BAM!

My Crohn’s disease reared up with an abscess that required me to be hospitalized so it could be drained through a surgical procedure. I was so sick by the time I got to the hospital, I was now incredibly immunocompromised. That means the antibiotics used to treat my massive infection caused me to become sicker with another bacteria.

I have had Crohn’s for almost thirty years and NEVER expected my disease to take such a horrible turn to the left!! The recovery for all this is still ongoing even after two years…My disease is not the same as it had been; I am not the same that I had been because of it.

This was a true sudden storm.

Perhaps you have an experience too…an illness of your own that came out of nowhere? The death of a loved one that seemed unexpected? Or is it the intensity of grief after the death that is what is so unexpected??? Is it a job loss or change??

It most certainly can be COVID-19 for all of us…who saw THIS coming as a pandemic???!!

2. “Waves swept over the boat…”

Here is the thing…there can be storms and then there are the WAVES THAT KEEP CRASHING OVER YOU.

Those are the things that just keep coming.

That experience of two years ago? Well, we had waves crashing over us too…a depressed teenager living with us, the loss of relationships, AND one my best friends found out she had Stage 4 Colon Cancer that metastasized into her ovaries all WHILE I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL.

Prior to that?

My husband lost his job.

His dad died.

We were adjusting to a new job that included frequent travel for him so my husband was gone…a lot.

We were getting by…we had been keeping our heads above water for a few years…but my illness in conjunction with the other issues listed made me feel like I was drowning as the waves would not stop coming!

3. “The disciples woke Jesus and said “SAVE US, WE’RE GOING TO DROWN!“

You know what I notice here??

They were scared so they WENT to Jesus and told Him the truth! They cried out in their fear to the One they believed could help them.

Have you done that?

Do you need to do it again?

Going to Jesus, being honest with Him about how we feel and what we are afraid of, WAKES HIM UP TO HELP (so to speak).

We NEED to talk to our Lord and Savior and tell Him what is on our hearts…in the deepest most secret place inside us.

It may seem harsh to say, but why should He do all the work in the relationship with you? He does what you ask…He talks to you…and you don’t talk to Him?

4. “Why are you so afraid?”

This seems to be an unusual and perhaps not the most loving response our just wakened Savior has for His friends, right?

He was asleep because He KNEW they were and would be fine because He was with them.

They KNEW He was from God and did miracles with the authority of God. They saw people HEALED from their afflictions…and THEY WERE STILL SCARED?

He called them out for what they already KNEW about Him…why are you afraid, friends?? I am with you. You are already following Me, so follow My example and get some rest like I am.

Has God brought to YOUR mind the same question?

Why are you afraid beloved??

I am right here.

Have faith in ME.

5. “Then He calmed the waves and rebuked the storm and then it was completely calm.”

Wow.

Once they confessed their fear to their Lord, they were reminded of where and who their faith was founded on, and the storm was made calm.

I can honestly say my storm did not calm immediately.

Most of ours don’t.

BUT…because I continually cried out to God in my anguish, my confusion, my literal pain, my fear, and my hurt…PEACE CAME TO ME IN THE STORM.

Like I said, I am still recovering from my illness exacerbation of two years ago.

My friend has passed away after fighting her Stage 4 Cancer.

We are STILL in a pandemic of sorts.

Yet, there IS peace.

It is quiet. It is calm. It is not obvious. It can be hidden underneath the noise of doubts or busyness. However, it is there when I choose to look for it.

Jesus is with me in my boat.

Jesus is with you as well.

Do not forget that He is the One who can calm the raging sea.

Do not forget to call out to Him.

He is waiting and able and mighty to save you from drowning.