Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “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. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”- Matthew 8:24-27
Insight: I truly love being a follower of Jesus because I get to know Jesus on a personal and intimate level. That is a life- changing, and contentment fulfilling relationship that is not available anywhere else in this world. It is personal, and it is beautiful and it is available to anyone who calls on His name. He will always meet you right where you are, and He promises if you seek Him you will find Him. ( Matthew 7:7 ) However, He doesn’t promise us life will be all rainbows and butterflies if we follow Him. He doesn’t promise us wealth, as some falsely preach. He doesn’t say we won’t encounter storms in this life, in fact He says just the opposite in John 16:33. But what He does promise is that He will be with us in the storms of life, and that He will be the anchor, the firm foundation we need in order to stand and survive whatever we are faced with in this broken world. That is our enduring hope no matter what the world throws our way. He strengthens us and fulfills us in ways nothing else ever can. He makes us never feel lonely, even when we are all alone. If we trust Him, He will turn our fear into courage and our doubt into deeper faith. He will turn our fear into joy.
In the scripture above from Matthew 8:24-27, we see a great example of how in our own flesh, we are fearful of the circumstances that can surround us. In this case, a literal storm threatens the boat in which the Disciples are traveling, and they are terrified about their situation and perplexed that Jesus is sleeping in the midst of the storm. Notice Jesus didn’t prevent the storm from coming upon them, although He easily could have. Instead, He was teaching His Disciples a deeper lesson that He would always be with them in the middle of the storm. He knew He would eventually be going away, and He needed them to know how He would always be there with them through the trials they would surely encounter in the future for their faith in Him. So by allowing the storm to come, and then illustrating His total power over all aspects of the world including the physical storm, He blew them away in a deeper way than could have ever happened if He had prevented the storm from ever happening. Look at their reaction in Matthew 8:27: “The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Think of any storms you have gone through in your life, and how Jesus being there with you in the storm not only gave you the strength you needed to survive the storm, but also how much your faith grew because of that storm or trial you faced. Jesus always is building a deeper faith in us, because He has an eternal perspective, and He alone knows what is best for us. We may not like it at the time, but it will always be good for us in time. Jesus is not our Cosmic Bellhop or Personal Valet. He owes us nothing, and we owe Him everything. He died for our sins so we could be with Him forever. He is God, and He is good. You can trust Him, even when you don’t understand why He allowed the storm to come, because He is with you in the storms of life.
Prayer- Father God, thank You that You Sent us Your Son Jesus to be with us in all the trials and the tribulations we face in this life because without Him, we couldn’t make it through. He is our Harbor in the tempest, and He promises to never leave us or forsake us, especially when the storms of life assail us. Help us to surrender all of our worries and fears over to You, knowing that You are love. Amen!
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