When the Storm Won't Stop

Read Matthew 8:18-27 slowly. Maybe twice.

Notice what jumps out at you. Is it the disciples panicking? Jesus sleeping? The storm appearing out of nowhere?

Here's what's happening: Jesus tells everyone to get in a boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then a massive storm hits—the kind that makes experienced fishermen think they're about to die. And Jesus? He's taking a nap.

The disciples wake him up, terrified: "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" And Jesus asks them a question that cuts deep: "Why are you afraid? You have so little faith."

Then he stands up and tells the wind and waves to be quiet. And they obey.

The disciples are left asking: "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and waves obey him!"

Here's what's wild about this story: Jesus said they were going to the other side. He didn't say, "Let's get in the boat and maybe drown halfway there." He said they were going to make it. The storm didn't change the plan—it just revealed what the disciples really believed about who was in the boat with them.

Most of us read this story and think, "Yeah, I'd be scared too." But here's the thing: we face our own storms all the time. Maybe it's a health crisis that came out of nowhere. Maybe it's a relationship that's falling apart. Maybe it's financial pressure that keeps you up at night. Maybe it's just the daily grind of anxiety that makes you feel like you're drowning.

And in those moments, we have a choice. We can focus on the size of the waves, or we can remember who's in the boat with us.

Jesus wasn't surprised by the storm. He knew it was coming. And he got in the boat anyway. That should tell us something about how he operates. He doesn't promise smooth sailing—he promises to be with us when the storms hit.

The question isn't whether storms will come. The question is: when they do, where will you look?