Jesus tells His disciples,
Luke 8:22 “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.”
Little did they know what was coming next. We find that as they set out to sail, Jesus falls asleep in the boat, but they are in a situation.
Luke 8:23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
Even though many of them had been fishermen and on those waters many times, they panicked. One can imagine the waves are tossing the boat around and the wind has caused such a squall that the water was coming into the boat that it was now flooded. I mean, what were they to do, they only had Jesus on the boat with them.
Luke 8:24 The 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.
Yay! Jesus rescued them. Whew, that was close… I mean they were in trouble, their lives were in danger and so they woke Jesus up to rescue them.
Luke 8:25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
What an odd question. They did have faith; they reached out to Jesus in desperate need in the middle of the storm. Look, their very lives were in danger…
Jesus asked them: “Where is your faith?” What was He really getting at? Who asked them to get in the boat? Who asked them to go to the other side? Who was in the boat with them? Who knew the storm was coming? Who can calm the storm?
Have you ever felt like you were caught in a storm, with Jesus seemingly asleep? Those moments can be terrifying when the winds and waves of life seem to overwhelm you. I’m not entirely sure I grasp the full depth of what Jesus meant when He questioned His disciples’ faith, but His inquiry seems to go beyond merely seeking His aid in times of distress.
Jesus urges us to trust Him through the storms, particularly when we’re certain He’s the one who’s called us into the boat. We need to know if He called us to the other side rather than the obstacles we encounter along the way. If we are confident that He has called us, and then we know He remains with us, we can find peace amidst the turmoil.
Is Jesus asking you to go with Him to the other side of the lake? You can trust Him through the storm and get you to the other side, He is with us.
