Total peace

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"23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves. But He was asleep."
                                                                                                  Matthew 8: 23-24   NKJV

The Sea of  Galilee is notorious for sudden storms, some very violent ones such as this. Here we see the disciples struggling with the wind and the waves and they were petrified. Now some of these were experienced fishermen. They were used to high waves going over their boat and battering them. But something about this incident really frightened them. 
Usually after great days of miracles and God's blessings, we can come under attack from the evil one. And these disciples had certainly seen the power of God at work, when they  had been out on the road with Jesus. However, they were panicking, and maybe the evil one was causing them to lose their focus.

Jesus was asleep in the boat at the time and they hurriedly woke Him, screaming that they needed His help as they felt the boat would sink and they would all die. Jesus looked at them and said, 'Why are you fearful. O you of little faith?' Jesus was not annoyed that He had been awoken. Not at all. But, He was probably disappointed that they had witnessed powerful miracles and now they had given in to fear, which is a partner of unbelief. 

Picture the scene. Scary, raging waves. Panicking disciples and a sleeping Jesus. I certainly would not have liked to be out there in this storm. It must have been horrendous. Just stop and picture what a storm can accomplish - total devastation. But the disciples had missed one very important piece of detail. Jesus was in the boat with them. At times like this, it is helpful to know this fact. 

Jesus was at peace, therefore, He slept. It reminds us of yesterday's scripture in Psalm 3. In verse 5, David said, 'I lay down and slept.' David was so confident in the fact that God was with him and would help him, that he was at peace, and fell asleep and was rested. Here, Jesus acts in a similar fashion. He was at complete peace too and so therefore He rested. Sadly, it was short-lived as the storm caused the disciples to be fearful. He would have liked the disciples to rebuke the wind and the waves. He had certainly taught them how to do this. They had even had full displays of Jesus in action, doing this.

How do you react in crisis? How do you handle sudden storms that come into your life with the intention of causing havoc? Like this situation, Jesus is with us. He has demonstrated His commitment to us but wants us to take the lead in certain situations. Yes, Jesus is always with us, but He has given us the power to handle daily issues; to take on the powers that will come against us. He's given us the armour of God (Ephesians 6:13-18). He doesn't want us to be fearful, panicked or feeble. He wants us to stand tall, in the armour of His might, and deal with the issues that come against us, in His Name.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com