Whenever you read the story of Jesus calming the storm in Luke 8:22-25, what are the things that stand out to you? For me, I immediately see the obvious: Jesus is asleep, a storm is raging so badly the boat was taking on water, the disciples were afraid, Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves, and all is quite. But then Jesus asks an astonishing question. Turning to his disciples, he asked: “Where is your faith”?
If you were one of his disciples in that moment, what would have been your thought? Like me you may have thought he was asking why be afraid of the storm. This may be a common thought simply because we all have something they didn’t, and that is the ability to see and read what happens later. But for them, this faith in the moment could have only come by a complete confidence in trust in Jesus. The fact that he was sleeping should have been a clue! He knew that moment during that storm was not his time to die, nor was it any of theirs. Therefore they had no reason to fear the storm.
But there’s something else I believe Jesus implies with that question as well. Imagine if you will, that he continued on and perhaps said something like this: “Where is your faith? Why didn’t YOU rebuke the storm?”
So from this text we can then confirm at least two more reasons why fear in the believer is unfounded:
1. Our lives are in His hands. He knows the plans He has for us and knew the number of days He appointed for us to walk this earth when there was yet not one of them (Psalms 139:13-16)
2. As His children and through the power of the same Holy Spirit working in Him as well, we also have the authority in His name to speak to the storms, and rebuke them (Romans 8:11; Ephesians 1:18-23).
If you have time, take a listen to this song on YouTube by Jeremy Camp titled “Same Power”. I think you will find it encouraging!
Alabastersky 