
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”
36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Observation: Jesus preaches to the storm, the storm calms, and the disciples are left in wonder.
Application: Why are you so afraid? This question gets asked of us a lot. You expect it from your parent or your teacher or maybe even your boss. Don't really expect if from Jesus though. The point in which the storm comes might make us afraid. To be sure, there are plenty of storms that rage in our lives. You can probably name 5-10 off the top of your head right now. I know I can.
The point of this story in scripture is that Jesus is in charge. Jesus is the one to calm the storms of life. Our faith and trust in this promise is the point in which Jesus asks the question: "Why are you so afraid?" Fear can overtake us away from the trust that we have in Jesus. I am often struck by the amount of times 'do not be afraid' occurs in scripture. Every time there is cause to be afraid. But there is also cause to trust that Jesus has got this storm under wraps, and it won't last for long.
Prayer: Lord help me trust that you have this all under control. Quiet the storms that are raging in my life so that I might experience your peace.