FAITH amidst the STORMS...

F.A.I.T.H. -- Forsaking All I Trust In Him~

Matthew 8:23-27 -- Jesus Calms the Storm

"Then he got 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. But 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!'"

I just finished teaching this lesson to my Preschoolers, who thought the storm was pretty cool. There was wind (coming from the mouths of a teacher and a couple kids), there was waves (4 children who waved a blanket up and down), there was lightning (one child flicked the lights on and off), and there was even rain (one child had a water squirter). It is an interesting Bible story, and it gets you thinking about Faith. I was going to write a devotional this week on Faith and the fact that more of us spend more time HAVING FAITH in the HEALING, then HAVING FAITH in the ONE who HEALS... but Faith amidst the storms is good too.


I think I will be doing a more thorough devotional time on FAITH and increasing our FAITH.  It is a topic of interest and a topic that is being spoken of a lot, and that a lot of people are focusing on in their own lives. I am a woman of FAITH, and I try to trust God in most circumstances. I have learned, and of course am still learning that I should not be dwelling on what I see, or what I feel physically or the circumstances around me. I should be putting my full trust in the Father in Heaven who see and knows everything. We were reminded at church last week that faith/belief sits in our heart more than it sits in our head. Head Knowledge vs. Heart Knowledge is a battle we all face daily. Taking a twist on it, from revelation from the Spirit of course, we are relying too much on head knowledge and what we see and think, than on our heart knowledge which should know what God can and will do. When troubles arise, we should know in our heart, which should tell our head that GOD CAN!


Looking at this story, I feel that as people (Christian and non-Christian) we sometimes put Jesus in a box. We set Him aside, and call on Him when we need Him. When we are in trouble, we pray and ask God (sometimes we hear the prayers of people who pray God, if you are real...) to help us. We should know that God can and will help us. But most of us try to find the answers or solve the problems with our human hands. That of course we know makes our problems worse.


The disciples were with Jesus, watching and listening to all the messages that He was giving. They had seen healings, and knew what He could do. In Matt 4:23-25, they saw and we can read that He healed many. In Matt 6:5-15 He taught them (and us) how to pray to the Father. Still in Matt 6, in v. 25-34 He taught them (and us) that they need not worry about things. In Matt 7:7-12 He taught them (and us) that we just need to ASK, SEEK & KNOCK  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. In Matt 7:24-29 He shared the parable of the 'Wise and Foolish Builders' telling them to keep the faith through the rains and storms. In the beginning of Matt 8 (v.1-16), they saw a man healed from leprosy, and learned of the faith of the Centurion where Jesus healed the man's servant just using His words, and also many more healings. Then just a few verses later, is where this STORM hits. Did the disciples just forget all the miraculous things they just saw and heard? (Obviously its been a few days from Matthew 4 to Matthew 8) But really, could they forget that they were with the God who can heal and save? Jesus told them the power comes from His Father in Heaven. (using Matt 6 above) Did they pray first, or did they just freak out? (Using Matt 7 above) Did they Ask the Father, Seek His help or Knock on His door first? (Using Matt 7 above) Did they actually build their lives on the ROCK, which could stand through any storm of life? (Using Matt 8 above) Did they SPEAK the words of LIFE over there situation in FAITH? Did they even show any signs of FAITH? NOOOOOOO..... they did not (or at least they did not record that they did). (Well I guess except for turning to Jesus in a time of trouble).


The disciples did what we all do, they cried out in FEAR. They let FEAR overtake them. They let their HEAD knowledge come before their HEART knowledge. They let themselves dwell on the circumstances and what they could see, and the FEAR that they felt. But where was Jesus in all this? Did Jesus let them down, and now they were stuck to face the storm alone? Jesus was sleeping. He was resting in the peace of His Father's arms. Peace amidst the storm. A place where most of us don't allow ourselves to go too often. The disciples were afraid, and I think they felt anger or even subtle bitterness that Jesus was sleeping while they were going through this storm.


Again, we can allow ourselves to feel that Jesus or God is asleep. He doesn't hear our problems, or see our needs and desires. He doesn't really hear our prayers, and that is why He is not answering in the way we want. God does not SLEEP or SLUMBER. Jesus was sleeping in this passage, because He was still a human. He needed time alone with His Father to rest and restore His strength. Because He was focused on God His Father, and on the rest and the peace that He was receiving from Him, He had no need to worry about the circumstances around Him. That is one of our main problems. Like race horses, we need to have blinders on. We need to FOCUS on God, and the things that He has for us, but too often we find ourselves looking to the left or the right and getting distracted by the things around us. These things hinder our run with God to the finish line. These distractions take our focus off of what is important and sometimes we find ourselves running the wrong way. When a problem comes from the right, we run to the left, instead of running straight to the Father.


The disciples ran in fear to the back of the boat where Jesus was to ask for help. Okay, now we all think YAY, Jesus is going to help them. For those of you who know the rest of the story, or who read it in the Scripture above you know Jesus does indeed save the day. But first, let's picture this situation in our heads for a minute. (I am a visual person) -- 13 men are in a boat, Jesus one of the men, retreats to the back of the boat to have a rest. For good reason, as the guy has been busy preaching, teaching, healing, etc. Now picture, a storm comes, the wind and the waves begin to rock the boat, and water is now coming into the boat. They do not want to sink, so they are doing what they can to stay afloat. But... all of a sudden the 12 men race to the back of the boat to get Jesus. Hmmm.... wouldn't that now be putting all the weight in the back of the boat, therefore making the boat more unstable - making their problem much worse than it was...? Just a thought...


Anyway, Jesus awoke to the voices of screaming men, (wouldn't that be a great wake-up call?) and looked at the disciples, and said some interesting words. "YOU OF LITTLE FAITH, why are you so afraid?" Obviously this is happening in a quick span of time, but seriously, what do you think the disciples thought? How did Jesus feel? We can only imagine and try to interpret the answers to those questions, (but after doing Bible Study/Sunday School in Matthew for over a year and a half, we realize the disciples didn't act upon the faith that they had in their heads. They needed to move that faith into their hearts, and truly believe that Jesus was who He said He was, and that God the Father would do what He said He would do. So many times, as was said above, they saw their Master perform miracle after miracle, and they heard him preach and teach time and again.) How can they have these feelings of doubt in a time like this? They were probably in awe/unbelief at what Jesus was saying to them. Why was He lecturing them at a time like this? Didn't He realize they were going to die? Jesus on the other hand, who was just awakened from a peaceful rest, was probably so tired, and frustrated that his followers weren't acting on their faith. Jesus was basically telling them to use their 'common sense'. The common knowledge that they now had revealed to them through the Holy Spirit through things they heard, saw and believed from their Teacher in the supernatural. But for the disciples, these supernatural things were now being overcome by fear, because of things they see and hear in the natural around them. WOW! Just like the 21st century church of believers and followers of Jesus.

Believers today focus a lot on FEAR and circumstances in the natural, and not on FAITH and things that Jesus did and will do in the supernatural. His will is for all to be made whole, and restored. He is our refuge and shelter in a time of storm. This is a promise that we can use to battle against the FEAR that comes against us. The Scripture is found in Psalm 46:1-3 says that "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah"

It says here (in the Scripture found in Matthew - today's lesson) that Lord Jesus spoke, and the wind and the waves obeyed. He has the power over the natural and all things that He created. However, it also says that the disciples were amazed. We as believers need to still be amazed by the works of the Lord. When we fall into complacency, and think that the miracles, and signs and wonders are no longer amazing, we fall into the trap the devil wants us in, no longer believing for the miraculous. Later in the Word, it says that they (and we) have also been given the authority. (Luke 9:1-3 - "When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.")  Today we need to walk in that authority, and use the Word against the wiles of the devil. It says in the Word that we shall see these things, and even greater things. Jesus told the disciples and us, "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." (John 14:11-13 NIV)

But most importantly we need to walk in FAITH! By FAITH we understand...

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for revelation through Your Spirit, and understanding. Help us to live a life of faith, and not fear, doubt and unbelief. When the storms of life come around us, help us to trust in You and Your Word. Encourage us in times of trial to keep on persevering and pressing on to the greater things that you have for us. Help us to seek You, and to still believe in miracles. Help us to have faith to do the things you did, and to do greater things as You have spoken to us. Encourage us along the way to be examples of faith for those around us. Through our faith in you, their lives will be changed as well. We need not have a mountain full of faith, yet we should have enough faith to move those mountains. Be with us and guide us in the ways we should go, and help us understand more about Your authority and power that You have given to us. Thank You Lord Jesus for the example that You gave. Help us to look to You, and not to our circumstances. Help us trust in You the keeper of the stars. Why is it that we can have faith that the stars will not fall from the sky, yet not faith in the little things in our lives? Help us have FAITH in You, the One who is the Healer, and not in the healing itself. Open our eyes to see your supernatural wonders around us daily. Help us seek You and trust You daily for MORE and MORE! May it all be done for Your glory and Your glory alone. It is nothing in the natural that we as mortal men can do, yet it is all that our loving Father in Heaven can supernaturally do. We ask all these things and more, in the Name of Your precious Son Jesus, AMEN!

*Here's a fun sheet to do with the kids, brought to you by http://www.sermons4kids.com/*
Jesus Calms the Storm

Keep the faith!
~Blessings,