Do we really know who He is?

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 8:26-37

Mathew 8:23-27 describes a scene that I believe is common to many of us. Jesus gets in the boat to go to the other side and the disciples follow.  They get into the boat with Him.  A storm pops up out of the blue and they become afraid.  They wake Jesus up, notice He was sleeping, and tell them that they are drowning.  Jesus simply speaks to the storm and it obeys.  The winds and the sea are calmed by His command.  The disciples are scratching their heads and asking themselves, “Who is this man?”  Wow!  No wonder Jesus points out their lack of faith.

It would be easy to point fingers at the disciples and marvel at how why they would get so afraid if they knew Jesus was in the boat.  It would be easy to judge them for their lack of faith and disbelief for not truly knowing who Jesus was and the authority He has over all creation.  However, those same fingers would be pointing at ourselves.  I know they are pointing directly at me.  

Think about it?  How many times have we allowed fear to overrule our emotions and stress to wind us up into a state of panic?  How have we responded to those unexpected storms?  Have we operated in faith and exercised the power that He has given us? Do we realize that Jesus is in our boat and that we have nothing to fear?  Do we realize that He will get us safely to our destination? Do we go to Jesus believing that He can calm the storms?  Do we really understand that there is absolutely nothing to hard for God?  Do we know Him for ourselves even after seeing evidence of Him over and over again?

For me the answer is not consistently yes.  Too often I let fear rule.  I get frantic because I am trying to fix things or find the solution to problems.  Too often I feel the rock in my boat from the storms of life and I cry out, don’t You care Jesus!  But I must follow His example and rest, rest in the knowledge of who controls every storm and situation.  I must stay in the boat and trust Him to get me to my destination.  I must really know Him and believe in Him.  I must operate in faith so that in His name I too can speak to the storms.

Father I thank You for your word and your power.  Life gets rocky sometimes and the winds howl, but increase my faith and understanding of You.  Let me not fear but trust and believe in You.  Speak to my storms Lord.  In Jesus name. Amen