"And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves. But He was a sleep." v24. Matthew 8:23-27 NKJV
Storms on the Sea of Galilee are quite common and often very severe. One minute there can be calm, the next it can be tempest level. It was no different here. Jesus and the disciples had climbed into a boat to go to the other side - possibly between an 8 to13 mile long journey. Jesus fell asleep and the tempest struck threatening to capsize the boat.
Wherever Jesus is, the storms of life become calm and it was similar here. The disciples panicked and woke Jesus. He remained calm and spoke to the storm and there was peace. William Barclay says, 'When the storms of life shake our souls, Jesus Christ is there and in His presence the raging of the storm turns to the peace that no storm can ever take away.'
Storms come to us in various types, there are sorrows, doubts, fears, heartaches and many more. However, when these storms hit us, just a call to Jesus helps bring a calming effect. There is a lesson here. Jesus demonstrated that in His humanity, He needed to rest and so do we. Jesus' desire was to sleep regardless of any storm that was around and, His desire is for us to do the same. We are stronger when we have rested and there is rest in the presence of Jesus. The natural thing to do during these storms is to panic and try to find a solution. However, many times one cannot be found and fretting does not help. We need to practice that, handing the crisis over to Jesus is the only answer. Jesus slept through part of the storm, so can we, as difficult as it may sound. Obviously this is easier said than done, but when we cannot do anything about the situation, it is far better to get some rest. Without rest we are of no help to ourselves or anyone.
What are you going through at this time? Can you do anything about it immediately? If not, try and get a little sleep, even catnapping can alleviate stress. Cast it over to Jesus and take a little time out for yourself.
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard
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