My meditation on "Jesus calms a storm"

Hello, how are you? I hope you are fine. However, if you are not, if you are going through storms in your life, feel more than welcome to read the following lines. They are the result of a revelation that God gave me in a moment of meditation. I hope you feel blessed by God’s words. The living words that talk deep inside with us.


Jesus Calms a Storm

(Luke 8:22-25)

22 One day he (JESUS) got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they set out,

23and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.

24And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.

25He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?"

Before starting the study in these verses, I’d like to comment on the fact that this is chapter 8. I’m sure you’ve noticed. I’d like to remind you that Jesus had already made many miracles in His stay in this world. He had already healed the Centurion’s servant, raised a widow’s son from death, healed a paralytic, a man with leprosy and so forth… Ah, Jesus had also made the disciples find fish after having spent the whole night trying unsuccessfully.

Yet, this is the first chapter in the book of Luke that shows the disciples in trouble. Jesus had already done so many miracles but it seems that the disciples had forgotten. You, as well, may have forgotten the many miracles that Jesus has done in your life, but Jesus HASN’T.

Having said that, I’d like to start analyzing each verse. So, here we go.

Verse 22: Please, could you kindly take a look at the verse again and answer this question:

“WHO invited who to enter the boat? Is it Jesus who invites the disciples OR the disciples who invite Jesus?”

It says that JESUS entered in a boat. Please, think with me: don’t we know that God knows EVERYTHING and Jesus, being the Son of God, knew that there will be a storm ahead? So, don’t you think that Jesus took the disciples there for a reason? Jesus has a lesson for you and HIM HIMSELF will take you to the place where you’ll learn it.

It’s Jesus who is leading you to a storm. Interesting, huh? Yes. So, if it’s Jesus who’s taking us to the storm and Jesus knows everything… I just have to say: “relax and trust HIM”.

But there’s something about it: Jesus wants to take you from ONE PLACE to the other. Jesus is saying: “Let’s go to the other side of the lake”. There’s a mission to be accomplished. The story doesn’t say why Jesus wants to go to the other side. He neither explains HIMSELF to the disciples. This is the same with us. God is telling you to go, just GO! GOD’s with you. The disciples didn’t ask why, they simply obeyed.

Verse 23: Jesus fell asleep in the boat. You know when there are times in your life when you’re working for God and then you tell Him: “leave it to me, ‘I’ CAN handle it.” Jesus could’ve helped the disciples to row to the other side, but He slept. I know Jesus could be awakened but Jesus knew that the storm would come. I wonder what would’ve happened if Jesus were awakened. You may sometimes think that Jesus is not doing much in your life, as if He were asleep. But HE’S right there, in the BOAT with you, letting you work, do your part and… and… let’s continue…

I don’t think the disciples expected a storm. Could you, please, take a look at verse 22 again? It says that it’s a LAKE. I don’t understand much about Geography, but I don’t expect to see storms in a lake, especially if Jesus is with me. The Bible says that “they were in danger”. It doesn’t say that they capsized but that they were in great danger. It doesn’t say that they tried to solve the problem themselves. Some of the disciples were USED TO BE IN THE SEA, fishing.

HOWEVER, they were in a lake and they go straight to Jesus. Comparing it as I may, I’d say that the disciples are considered to be like children and Jesus their Father. Don’t you do the same when you’re a kid and you have a problem? Is the first thing you do is to run to your parents who are able to solve the problem for you? Here, we see the disciples doing the same. The first thing that I do when I’m in danger is to think of my daddy who’d be there to protect me. So, treat God like your Father, because He’s there to help.

Verse 24: Take a look at the first words, please:”they WENT to him”.

The disciples went to Jesus. I think Jesus could’ve left the disciples alone and watch from far their despair. BUT Jesus was there with them. Jesus knew that there will be a storm and He could’ve told the disciples to cross the lake without Him and observe how they would perform. Yet, this is NOT what we see. We see a God who is PRESENT, who is there in the BOAT with you. It was Jesus who had taken them there. God doesn’t let a problem happen and keep distant. He’s in the boat with you, He’s in the middle of the problem WITH YOU.

Something important about the disciples is that they knew Jesus could have solved their problems because they called Jesus “MASTER, MASTER”. They knew who Jesus was. My question is: was Jesus a fisherman? Had Jesus got experience like the disciples in boats in the middle of the sea? The Bible said that Jesus worked with wood. It was the disciples’ job to deal with boats. They can man boats, but they asked for Jesus’ help. They wanted Jesus to solve the problem.

We at times think that Jesus doesn’t understand our problems, that He hasn’t “been there”. But He lived 33 years in this world to understand us and give us the feeling of “I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH”. Deep inside, the disciples knew that Jesus could find a solution for the situation.

Jesus calms the storm.

You know, have you noticed that Jesus is stopping the nature for you? God is moving mountains, God is stopping the storm. Have you ever seen a storm? It’s something MASSIVE that surround us in greatness, that makes us afraid by seeing it and by listening and raining on us. And it’s exactly this that God is stopping FOR US. He’s stopping the nature. Hold on a minute. Who controls the nature? Tell me, please. Well, it’s God Himself who controls the nature. And remember that Jesus chose the storm, a HUGE example. Now, how little it is for God to stop a virus, an infinite little thing that it’s causing Cancer, Aids or even a simple flu… God can stop a storm for you, HE can stop the virus too. Just call HIS name and, like the disciples, BELIEVE that He can solve your problem.

Afterwards, the Bible said that “ALL was calm”.

It doesn’t really say in the first verse (22) if it was calm when they took the boat. Maybe the lake was a bit rough… But IT DOESN’T matter, after the problem, everything will be CALM. It will be BETTER than it was at first place. When Jesus told the disciples to take the boat, it doesn’t say it was calm. You don’t “feel’’ peace. But after reading verse 24, you actually FEEL this peace and it was automatically after Jesus calmed the storm.

Verse 25: Could you, please, take a look at this verse and tell me what Jesus asks the disciples?

Thank you.

Jesus asked them where their FAITH is…
Jesus could’ve told them: “you can stop the storm”.

But Jesus wanted them to look inside themselves and check WHERE their faith was.

Jesus DID NOT say that they had NO faith. Jesus asked WHERE their faith was. Every now and then I leave my faith under my blanket and go to school. From time to time I hide my faith. Sometimes, to solve my life, busy with my stuff, I hide my faith. And it says that the disciples were in fear. TWO WORDS. Beginning with the same letter… But FAITH is spelt LONGER than FEAR. There are more letters in the word FAITH than in the word FEAR. And it’s easier to have fear. It’s even easier to pronounce “fear”. The “th” sound for me is difficult to pronounce. So, it’s easier to utter “fear” than “faith”. I have to practice the sound of “th” and it’s the same with “faith”, we have to PRACTICE IT. We have to practice our faith. So, practice your faith, use your faith because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

When Jesus asks them where their faith was, they didn’t answer. They didn’t have the attitude to answer. Instead, they were in fear and amazement, asking one another: “who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him”

I see Jesus showing the disciples that He had power even over the nature. Jesus showed the disciples many miracles with diseases and now He’s showing them with the nature.

After finishing this study, I saw my friend complaining in her Facebook that she was late because of the storm. I felt that ironic, because I was meditating in this. Blessed be the storms that God put in our lives. I’m not saying to love our problems but to love the fact that God takes the storms in our lives to teach us how to live our lives with HIM.

To sum up, after the storm, the disciples took in a GREAT lesson and were able to learn more about Jesus and HIS power. My prayer is that after having read this, you may understand as well Jesus’ endless love for us and care. This is my prayer and I pray it in Jesus’ name, the name above all names.

All the glory to Jesus, the Son of God.
Amen.
Larissa Fauber