You’re lying if you say life is absent of turbulence. You’re either lying or denying.
We all have rough spots. If we’re honest we all have itchy spots we think unworthy of prayer, problem areas we’re tired of addressing, or pasts we’ve tried to pretend are done.
So we stuff them away in some cob-webby attic, pretending.
Out of sight, out of mind.
We deny them, hoping we’ll get by them. But the problem is, we don’t get by them because much of what we do is driven by them. The crux of our responses, defensive ways and judgements are a result of them.
Sometimes, the only way to get through a storm is by addressing it.
Jesus did that.
“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’
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.” Mark 8:23-26, emphasis mine
Jesus spoke to the waves, “Stop.” They did. He rebuked the winds. They listened.
Jesus did not see the storm and hide from it. He met it face to face. What if we did the same?
Let’s consider things from the disciples’ perspective for a moment. Did they meet the storm face-to-face? In some ways, yes. They saw it before them. In other ways, no. They took things in their own hands. They demanded Jesus handle the storm the way they thought right. They woke Jesus up from the rest he needed.
But Jesus is always aware. Jesus always sees. Jesus always knows. Jesus always has a plan.
He may look voiceless, but he is interceding for you.
He may look silent, but he is advocating for you.
He may look immobile, but his will prevails.
Rather than being the ones who demand our way to God, what if we trusted his ways no matter what problem was trying to sink us?
What if we said, “Christ, with the power to calm every storm, can powerfully calm my storm and I am standing on that fact. Jesus, with the heart to bring people where they are meant to go, will bring me, and I am banking on that. Jesus, who has a plan, has not lost the plan for my life – and I believe that.”
What kind of miracle would we see if we didn’t wake Jesus, but trusted him?
How might he arise to say, “You of great faith,” verses, “You of little?”
What might we see transpire?
Kelly’s new book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears has been called “A must read,” “Breathtakingly honest” and a “Great Toolbox to Overcome Fear.” Read it today.
Discover how to flee from fear and fly in faith through 4 Days to Fearless Challenge.
Get all Purposeful Faith blog posts by email – click here.
Jesus, calm every storm.