Yeshua consistently amazed the crowds and His disciples with wisdom and with miracles. The miracles helped to show His power and authority from Yahweh and to help focus people as to why they should pay attention to Him vs. other teachers. We too should pay attention to His wisdom and power and let it serve as a constant reminder that we can trust Him and should indeed model our lives after His life and His teaching.
Jesus Stills the Sea
35On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. 38Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 40And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
A few things to consider. First, though perhaps not the most important, Jesus did not simply stay in one place to teach the people just because He drew a crowd. He knew His mission was to move and teach in many different places to have the most impact. We should take note in our own lives to not just go or stay somewhere because we draw a crowd. Let us instead seek to understand God’s will for our lives and be willing to pick up and move on when He calls us to do so.
Building on that theme, consider that Jesus knew He was leading the disciples into a storm. Sometimes God will lead us out of a comfortable place and into a challenging one in order to help us grow and develop in our faith.
We will all face difficult times, even when we are with Jesus. Our lives will be challenging for sure and sometimes even those of us who love Yeshua and try to follow Him will be distracted by our circumstances, as the disciples became afraid because of the storm.
We can take heart and be encouraged by looking to Yeshua, remembering the power of Yahweh and putting our faith in Him. When things seem difficult, let us always try to remember that Yahweh is in control and we can trust Him. It is often in the midst of the storms that we realize we need Him most and draw near to Him.
What storms are you facing in your life? Do you believe Yahweh is in control and can handle the situation… really believe it? That does not mean that you do not prayerfully take actions to help your situation, but it certainly reminds us to pray and look to Him for help and should help us to not worry and be anxious or fearful.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, please help me not to be anxious and worry, even in difficult situations. Please help me to grow in my faith and trust for You, even when it may appear that You are “sleeping in the back of the boat”. Thank You and may all the praise and honor and glory be for Your name’s sake as I am able to demonstrate the desired behavior, which will garner attention from others as they wonder how I stay calm in the storm. Amen
Shalom
Devotion by John in service to Christ
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