My mother doesn’t like the water because she fears the tossing to and fro of the waves. They had a sea accident when she was a little kid and all she could remember from that is that sea is dangerous. On the contrary, I like the sea and the ocean. It is not because I like to swim or wallow in the water, but more on the thought of calmness and peace. Though, not all the time we see the ocean as calm, yet it brings about lessons in life which I am really amazed. It terrifies us when storm comes and we are in the middle of the sea. Nevertheless, it soothes our soul when we see it calm and still. Just like the way of life. There are times that we are afraid when the storms of life suddenly rage. Yet life is also beautiful when it is tranquil.
We feel quiet when our life seems to go smoothly. But we are shaken whenever life upsets us.
What can we learn when the storms of life that suddenly rages?
This question brought me to the story about how Jesus calms the storm in Luke 8:22-25. Jesus and His disciples were sailing when He fell asleep. Then suddenly, there came a strong wind, and their boat was filled with water and they were in great danger. The disciples woke Jesus up and told Him that they were going to drown. Then Jesus rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they stopped. It was calm again. Then Jesus asked His disciples, “where is your faith?” And the disciples were left in amazement.
FAITH IN TIMES OF DIFFICULTIES
I know having faith in times of deep trials is never easy. As they say, it is easier said than done. We can just imagine how terrified the disciples were despite God’s physical presence. But in all these, we know that we must have faith in the promises of God.
Storms of life are meant to stretch out our faith. Our faith is genuinely tested during moments of raging storms and deepest valleys of life. We always have a choice—either to fret and focus on our situation like what the disciples did or to simply trust God no matter how fierce the storms in our lives are as we have seen in Job’s and Joseph’s lives.
God knows our situation and He is not surprise with what we are going through. In the story, Jesus was asleep. However, it does not mean that He did not know what was going on. He was peacefully asleep because the storm was meant to test the faith of His disciples. But because they focused too much on the situation, they forgot that Jesus was the powerful and mighty God that they had been with.
Many times, in our Christian journey, we are like the disciples. When problems and trials suddenly come unexpectedly, we forget that we have a big God. Our problems get magnified, and God gets forgotten.
I believe that many of us do not forget to pray when we are going through something, too. Yet we limit God. Whenever we do not get the answer within the time that we ask of Him, our hearts grow weary and eventually become cold. Our souls’ utter words like, “He does not care.”
Nevertheless, God has His own ways. He has his own timeline. Remember that He does not give us a test that we cannot bear. However, when we come to the point that we could not bear any more, remember His promise that His grace is sufficient for us and His strength is made perfect in our weakness” ( 2 Corinthians 12:9).
Once we are able to pass the test, the reward of growth and maturity will take into place. So let us not be afraid of storms that will rock our boat.
Have you been experiencing turmoil in life? Is God asking you to stretch out your faith?
Hang in there! Trust in the Lord and He shall bring it to pass. Have faith!
1 Corinthians 16:13
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”
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