Staying Afloat!

So this week I heard an interesting way to look at a story of Jesus in the Gospels. I can’t help but think about the weight of what this person told me. The Apostles and Jesus are out on a boat going from one shore to the next and in the middle of this journey the run into an obstacle. The Gospels say that they are on the water in the midst of a huge storm. We know this because two of the gospels, account that they were taking on water while this was going on. Through this whole storm Jesus is sleeping in the inner parts of the boat. The twelve disciples are afraid for their lives, so they do what any Christian would do. They wake Jesus and tell him what is going on, and they ask what they are to do. Jesus without hesitation gets up and commands the storm to calm. Just as the earth did in the times of creation, it calmed and listen to the Word of God, now in the flesh of Jesus. This is the new thought to the story; Jesus seems almost puzzled that the twelve even asked him to wake up!

Matthew 8:26
26He 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.

Mark 4:39-40
39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Luke 8:24-25
24The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.

Now most people think that the Apostles did just what they were supposed to. They were in trouble, and in their dismay they had faith that Jesus would know how to fix it. But why does Jesus show in all these stories that they have no faith? It’s like Jesus is confused by their fear. How is it that Jesus is sleeping during the time of the storm and when he awakes, he speaks and the storm ends? I think that Christ was perplexed because if the Apostles had full faith in him, they could have calmed the storm in Jesus name. There are times in our life where we ask, “Jesus please give me the strength to overcome the temptation I’m going through.” And shortly after we fail, we come to Jesus and say, “Master, we're going to drown! (Luke’s version) He steps in and calms the situation and tells us, “Don’t you understand? I gave the Strength to get though that struggle. Or, I gave you the wisdom to know what path to take. Or even, I’ve given you the power in my name to calm this storm!” then He speaks softly and says,” I did what you asked, you have the skills to make it to the other side, but you never put those skills into action!”

You see, in the midst of our problems, in the middle of our turmoil, Jesus equips us. He leads us to what is good and just. But sometimes we don’t use the skills he gives us. Sometimes we simply do something different, like panic in the storm, instead of trusting him at his word and through Christ, calming the storm. It’s about time we are people of the Lord with great faith—which only comes through Christ as well—that through Jesus’ name, we do mighty things for the Kingdom of God!