And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. – Matthew 8:23-26
I have always enjoyed reading this Bible story and listening to it being taught in Sunday school. The disciples went on the boat with Jesus, and all of a sudden, a storm started brewing. The Bible says, …there arose a great tempest… The dictionary defines tempest as “a violent windy storm.”
We know that some of the disciples had previous experience working as fishermen. Surely, they had seen and witnessed intense storms before this experience. This particular storm had caused them to panic to the point that they were fearful for their lives. As the storm continued to strengthen, the disciples’ concern began to grow. Just imagine the storm around them: Waves were crashing, and water was sloshing into the boat. The disciples had good reason to wonder what was going to happen next.
The Bible then talks about Jesus. Verse 24 says, …but he was asleep. While waves were crashing, lightning was filling the sky, and thunder was pounding, Jesus was asleep. Now, I for one enjoy a good nap in the midst of a downpour. However, this was not just rain; it was a violent storm. The disciples went to Jesus and woke Him from His sleep. They cried, …Lord, save us: we perish. He responded, …Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. The disciples experienced the power of Jesus that day as Jesus calmed the storm.
I have a vague memory from my childhood of running to my sister’s room in the middle of the night in fear. Earlier that night, as our parents were putting us to bed, I had heard the news playing on the television and had heard the weatherman say that we were in a tornado watch. I woke up later that night to a loud bang and the sound of great wind outside. I ran to my sister’s room in fear. My mom had always told us if we ever were to hear what might be a tornado, we were to run to the hallway and get down. My sister got out of her bed, and we knelt in the hallway—just two little girls in our nightgowns, holding each other tightly. She was not afraid and probably was not very happy that I was keeping her awake. After about five minutes of kneeling in the hallway and listening to the storm, things got quieter outside and became much calmer. We both went back to bed, and I was comforted that things were going to be all right.
In our lives, storms will come. With Jesus in our hearts, the storm does not need to be a scary event. Trials, heartaches, financial difficulties, grief, and life events that change our routines will happen. We do not need to be afraid because Jesus is there to bring peace and to calm our storms. Jesus is already in our “boat” of life. The disciples could not control the storm that day, but they could control their reactions to the storm. We just need to let Jesus calm our fears, our panic, and our worry.
There are lost people who do not have Jesus in their boats. They continue to go through storms without Him. They panic and fear for their lives. The reason for their fear is simply that Jesus is not in their hearts. If we as Christians live in panic or live with a complaining and fearful spirit, the unsaved will never see our peace or the One Who brings the calm. Let us show the lost that we as Christians can have peace in the storm. With Jesus in our boats, the storm is all in His hands. He can bring us peace, and He can calm the storm!
by Mandy Harper
