And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O
you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there
was a great calm. Matthew 8:26
We can avoid storms in our lives about as
often as we can divert weather patterns over our city. Go stand outside and
try. The reality is you will always face times of uncertainty. In the landscape
of your life, you will enjoy a few blue-sky days, but mostly there will always
be a dark cloud gathering somewhere on the horizon of your life, reminding you of the daily need to
trust God with tomorrow. You can’t set your hope on the illusion that somehow
you’re going to sort everything out one day. There will always be enough to
keep you on your knees. And just about the time you think, I don’t really need to pray that
much this week-wham. Face it; on this side of eternity, there will never be a day
when you won’t need to trust the God who loves you.
My future and yours will be ravaged by the
waves until we embrace the fact that God allows these storms for our good. He
won’t let us drown. Can you imagine how it would have wrecked the Gospels if it
went down like this: There was this storm and Jesus was asleep and four of the
disciples drowned? Of course not! He would not let them–nor will He let
you–drown.
But back in the moment, the disciples were
wild with fear. Even the professional fishermen knew things were out of
control. In the original language the disciples said just this: “Lord, save!”
Notice Jesus’ response to them: “Why are
you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). Bible scholars debate
whether or not that was a rebuke. Matthew was clearly fond of reporting how
many times Jesus said it: First, here in Matthew 8:26, when they feared the
storm; then in Matthew 14:31, when Peter took his eyes off the Lord and began
to sink; again in Matthew 16:8, when they forgot about the miracle of
multiplying bread; and again in Matthew 17:20, when they failed to heal the
demon possessed boy. “O you of little faith!”-Jesus said it to them a lot.
In my mind’s eye, I see Him smiling when He
says it here in the storm. I think it’s tender, like He’s saying, “You don’t
get it yet, do you?” He’s not mad at them, but sad that they didn’t think He
could take care of them.
Makes you wonder how often He says “O you
of little faith!” to us.
With
thanks to Walk In The Word
