“Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him saying, “Lord save us! We are 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!”
Matthew 8:24-27 NIV
Turn on the news, read the newspaper, or check out social media. They thrive on our emotions and create a sense of fear and urgency. What about our families, work, our friends. Life happens – any minute we could be faced with an event that can rock our world. We can find ourselves face to face with financial issues, health issues, or tragedy. the emotions rise up and we find ourselves consumed with fear and hopelessness; overwhelmed by the storm that has descended on our life.
In the moment, we have a choice. How do we respond? Do we embrace the chaos and give into the emotions? Or, rather than try to take control of a situation that we have no control over. We can acknowledge that in and of ourselves, we can’t deal with this. We can choose to put it into the hands of someone who is able and willing to take this out of our hands and handle it.
In Matthew 8:24-27 we have a perfect example. Jesus and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. Once in the boat, a powerful storm descended on them. The disciples were afraid. They thought they were going to drown. They went to Jesus and woke him up. The disciples could only see the storm. They were afraid because they knew that there was nothing they could do. They felt helpless. This turned into a teaching moment for them. They went to Jesus and expressed their fear. Jesus responded by pointing out that they were choosing to give into their fears and had forsaken their faith. Jesus then stood up and “rebuked the winds and the waves”. He commanded them to be calm and they obeyed. The disciples were awestruck. They couldn’t believe what they had witnessed. They had just been given a glimpse of who Jesus was and the authority He commanded.
So lets take this back to our life. Rather than give into the fear; Embrace faith and turn that crisis over to Jesus. It’s in those times we can only see the storm, that we need to view life in context. We need to remember that we are God’s creation and we are precious in His sight. The Bible tell us that God knows our needs before we even ask (Matthew 6:8). That we should cast our anxiety on Him, for he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). That He is a refuge in a time of trouble (Nahum 1:7). We need to trust in His ability to calm the storms of our life. Sometimes He gives us just what we ask for. Be at peace. Even if we don’t get the answer we want, He will always give us what we need.
God loves us and wants the best for us. This is where faith and trust come in. We don’t see the whole picture. God’s vision transcends time. He sees the future, the past and the present and how His intervention can affect our lives. Understanding that we don’t have all the details requires us to place trust in Him. resting in the knowledge that God has our best interest in mind. Choosing faith over fear allows us to step back from the chaos and make the choice to let God take control. It also enables us to take a breath and rest in the knowledge that our storm is in the best possible place – God’s hands.
Life Happens – Love Endures and the storms are calmed; when we put our trust in God.
When Life Gets Stormy
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Life In Context 