February 12, 2021
And [Jesus] woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?” – Luke 8:24-25
We don’t always think we can make it through. We don’t always believe that there will be an end to these struggles of life that we face. However, there is a great hope that we have in the One who put the stars in the sky.
We need only to look up, see, and believe that he knows each one by name, and that we will be okay. It is no guarantee that the struggles, trials, temptations will cease, but it does make it easier knowing that we don’t tread these rough waters alone. We look to the one who says to the waves and the water: “Be still.”
I remember when Sean, our oldest, learned that story in Sunday School. He was about 3 years old at the time, and we asked him about the lesson he learned, and from this tiny mouth, with great gusto, he said. Jesus told the wave to “BE STILL!” He had learned the lesson that we all need to learn over and again, because at times, the storms of this life can feel overwhelming, but we know the one who calms the storm.
Even when we feel tired, faint, weary because of the burdens in life, Jesus lifts us up, and our God reminds us that we will be okay. We can tell the storms to be still, in His name.
Several years ago, I heard a speaker at Divine Rhythm, an event for college students. The speaker told us that year about the storms of life, but when they come, never look and complain to God of how big the storm is that you are facing, but look the storm and remind it of how big and expansive God is. It’s not the size of the storm, it is the amount of faith in our God, who is bigger, greater, more powerful, and more full of love than we could ever imagine.
So, no matter how you feel today, no matter what you might be facing, know that God is watching over you, God is bigger than your storms. Find your hope renewed again in Him.
Grace & Peace,
Sam