Jesus healed many and blessed thousands. He showed us how to live a life of love, loving God and loving others. He showed us how to live a life of faith.
Jesus and His disciples came upon a man possessed by many demons. He commanded the supernatural to come out of the man. Who is this that upon hearing His voice the demons had to obey?
Later that day, Jesus and His disciples climbed into a boat and rowed into the sea. A terrible storm rose up and tossed their boat around as if it were nothing more than a scrap of wood. The disciples were feared for their lives. Jesus was sleeping in the boat instead of saving them, so they woke Him. Jesus commanded the wind and waves to cease. Who is this that upon hearing His voice the wind and waves had to obey?
Perhaps Jesus was sleeping at all. Perhaps He wanted to see their faith in action as they faced their fears in a dangerous storm. Sometimes we face frightening storms. Out of our fears we sometimes doubt. Our faith gets shaken. We wonder if Jesus is sleeping in our boat instead of helping us. We wonder if He hears our pleas. Might He have walked away?
Is our faith little or big? Is our faith somewhere in the middle? Do we have enough faith to keep going when we enter a stormy season? Do we understand that Jesus is in our boat, always with us, even when we doubt?
What kind of training do we need to overcome our fears and live life by faith and hope? Unshakable faith doesn't come from an easy life, it comes from having our faith shaken in the storms. We can be blown over by strong wind, washed out into the deep, or we can stand in the eye of the storm with Christ. The wind is going to blow and the lightening is going to crack. Our world will be shaken, but we can always find a strong shelter, a supernatural shelter, in His arms.
When we weather storms and face our fears with Jesus, our faith grows. We are made stronger. We are surrounded by love. We will learn that hope still exists, no matter the pain, no matter the loss. Jesus is our hope now and forever.
I have been through many storms. I have lost much. I have doubted. I know that Jesus is in my boat, but sometimes I wondered if He was sleeping.
The last storm took my joy, my hope, my love, and my peace. I believed I had nothing left. I was wrong. Jesus was with me through it all. He reached out to me again and again. He held me. He cried with me. He comforted and loved me. He was my hope, my Savior, my God, my everything. He helped me stand and then we walked and we talked. My faith grew stronger.
My life and my future are different than what I had planned. Jesus had something else in mind, a fresh new start. It is full of light and challenges me in ways I didn't believe possible. My problems with dyslexia and writing have vanished. He has called me to write, share, and live my out my faith differently. I didn't believe it possible, but with Jesus in my boat, the impossible, became possible.
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