The Storms of Life

(Today's reading - Gen 23-24; Matt 8)

Great read today! Sarah goes home to be with the LORD, Abraham mourns the lose of his wife and sends a servant to find his son a wife. Rebekah agrees to marry Isaac and God's promise to Abraham continues to be fulfilled. In Matthew, Jesus goes about healing many people. One healing that stands out to me is the man with leprosy.

I am sure this man spent many years being shunned by his village and no one dared come near him, but Jesus touched him. He could have just spoken and healed him, but this man needed someone to reach out a hand and touch the untouchable. This should be a reading that moves us as we think of our sin-sick lives and how Jesus is willing to touch each of us and cure us of our sinfulness. I like that.

In Matt 8:23-26, we read about a storm.

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly 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.

Interesting! A boat full of disciples that have witnessed His power think that He is going to drown. They have been there for the miracles. They have seen the paralyzed walk and demons cast out. I cannot imagine the things they have seen and heard, yet when the storm came, they panicked. They forgot what He had done for them and began to focus on the problems of the moment. They were overwhelmed by fear and suddenly the faith that had carried them through other "storms" left them.

We would never do that. Would we? We would never live under His blessing and learn of His power and goodness and forget it all in an instant. Would we? What "storm" could produce that kind of response from you? Just this week a friend of mine learned that his young son has bone cancer. Another friend had surgery to remove cancer from her body. Is cancer the "storm" that could cause this in your life? In the last few years, many of our friends and family have lost their homes and jobs because of the economic "storm" that this nation is facing. Would that shake your faith? What about divorce? What about the death of a son or daughter? Storms. It would seem that that we are confronted with "storms" in this life on a regular basis.

Jesus response to His disciple's fear... “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. He calms the storm. Sure, he rebukes their lack of faith, but he doesn't leave them in the storm. Whatever the storms in our lives, the Master is able to bring calm. Cancer... calm. Death... calm. Financial ruin... calm. Jesus calls on us to approach every "storm" by trusting in Him. He says to us, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”.

One of my favorite songs is "Master the Tempest is Raging". It calms me when I sing it. The song contains the the idea contained in the verses from Matthew...

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

No waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean, and earth, and skies; they all shall sweetly obey Thy will, Peace, be still! Get it? If the Master is on your ship, it is secure. Nothing can sink that ship. The unsinkable Titanic rests at the bottom of the ocean, but any ship that Jesus is a resident of is safe. Is He the master of your ship? Is He the one whose hands are on wheel of your life? Anything less than that will leave you trembling when the waves sweep over your boat. Peace, peace, be still!