
God knows the storms are coming but the question is, how will you respond?
Psalm 107:28-30 says, "'Lord, help!' They cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!"
Let’s talk about how we handle fear and how our faith should outweigh any fear.
Two times Jesus sent the disciples out to cross the sea, and both times He most likely knew the storms were coming.
Matthew 8:23-27 says, “Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ Jesus responded, ‘Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!’ Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. The disciples were amazed. ‘Who is this man?’ they asked. ‘Even the winds and waves obey him!’”
We all face storms, and God knows and sees them. He is waiting for us to come to Him, and He will make all calm with just one word. This doesn’t mean the storm will actually become calm because that may not be what needs to happen. But what might happen is that we will become calm. Our spirit will know that the Lord has spoken, and we will have a change from panic to peace. When God brings peace, we can find our way better through the storms. Knowing that God brings the peace during a storm makes the storm more bearable.
In Matthew 14:22-36, we read how there was a storm, and Jesus came walking on water. Peter’s faith in the moment was so strong, but it was tested as soon as he asked Jesus if he could come walking out to Him. His faith slipped as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus.
Verses 29-33 say, “’Yes, come,’ Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. ‘Save me, Lord!’ he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. ‘You have so little faith,’ Jesus said. ‘Why did you doubt me?’ When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. ‘You really are the Son of God!’ they exclaimed.”
We do the same. We are faithful and confident in our faith until we are sideswiped by life. Then we take our eyes off Jesus and struggle to stand firm on what we know we should be. This is why we must practice daily to sharpen our knowledge of God with His word and our faith in all He has said, worshipping the Lord through it all.
1 Peter 1:7 says, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
Trials and troubles in life come, and we can see where our faith truly lies when these come up.
True faith in God is trusting in who He is and what He does.
We may not see or understand it all, but because we trust God, we walk in faith and know what He does is good.
Let your faith rule over fear, as fear is not from the Lord.