Submitted by Pastor Reggie Koop, Watson Baptist Church

The dictionary defines a storm as: a violent disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds and usually rain, thunder, lightning, or snow. Yes, Mother Nature throws at us storms throughout the year. Some are predictable, such as a thunderstorm or a hurricane. But some are unpredictable, like a tornado. The weather person may see something on radar that may indicate that there could be the possibility of a tornado forming, which it may or may not do.

Also, in our daily lives we can have storms, which are usually unpredictable. A death in the family or a friend, a loss of a job, a sickness, a divorce, just to name a few. In Luke 8: 22-25, the disciples encounter a storm on the Sea of Galilee and Luke shows us the human side of Jesus. Jesus was tired and He needed to get away from the crowds, so He tells the disciples to sail to the other side of the lake to where there were fewer towns. The disciples and Jesus get into a boat and start to sail. Jesus falls asleep in the back of the boat and a fierce storm comes up. It was so fierce that the disciples feared for their lives, even though some of them were professional fishermen. They immediately woke Jesus up in great fear that they may perish. Jesus immediately awoke and calmed the storm, but rebuked the disciples for lacking sufficient faith. They lacked sufficient faith to realize that if they were in the Lord’s presence, they need not have feared. No harm could come upon them when they were in the presence of the Lord.

Aren’t we just like the disciples? Don’t we at times lack faith, insufficient faith? Jesus was able to rescue the disciples from the storm, and He is able to rescue us from the storms in our lives. A sickness, the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one, etc. – is there a storm in your life? Do you have sufficient faith? God never promised us that we will never see a storm in our lives, but He has promised that He will be with us in the storm. He will never leave His children alone in the midst of trouble. With perseverance, His children will overcome. May God bless you!