Matthew 8: 23 – 27 (NLT)
Jesus Calms the Storm
“Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
27 The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”
In Matthew 8, so far, we’ve seen Jesus heal a man from leprosy, heal a centurion’s servant from afar, and heal Peter’s mother-in-law, as well as many others who came to him that night. Now we see Jesus hold power over nature as he calms a storm.
I find it interesting that Jesus was sleeping during a storm with waves crashing over the boat. I think I would have woken up with rain and waves pounding on me. His exhaustion shows Jesus’ humanity; perhaps it was proof of an earlier statement in this chapter when Jesus said, “the son of man has nowhere to lay his head’. (v. 22) To me it is also one more piece of evidence of how much God loves us. Jesus was willing to live an uncomfortable life full of what we would consider stress and hardship to show us what God is really like. This event in verses 23 to 27 shows us Jesus’ humanity and his deity as he stops the storm.
Can we trust God for our safety? God tells us in Matthew 6 (25 – 34) that we can trust him for our provisions. Do you remember that passage about how God takes care of the birds and the flowers of the field, so we should trust him to provide for us? Now Jesus demonstrates God took care of the disciples in a storm. This idea of God being in charge of our safety is also written in the Psalms. “I lay down and slept; I awoke for the Lord sustains me” (Ps. 3:5) “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety” (Ps. 4:8)
This idea of safety can be troubling because we all know that not everything always turns out just fine. People we love die in car accidents or house fires. So many things can go wrong. As parents, we worry about our children’s safety because we are very aware that they don’t understand consequences and do crazy things. We live in a broken world, and God doesn’t stop every piece of brokenness from happening. But … we also know this:
“What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”
Matthew 10: 29 – 31 (NLT) We can trust God for our safety, and when bad things happen, we can lean on him for compassion and strength because we know he cares.
Our song for today is It is Well With My Soul by Sovereign Grace Music.