“Do You Still Have No Faith?”

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35-41

Life can feel like a storm – tossing us around with winds of misfortune, grief, or stress. Where can we turn? When Jesus disciples were caught in a great windstorm and wondered if he cared, they still knew where to turn. He demonstrated His power by calming the howling storm.

But often He does not calm the storm immediately. And, like the disciples, we may feel that he doesn’t care. To calm our fears, we can cling to faith in who God is and what He can do. We can take shelter in Him. We can find His help to relate to others with grace. We can rest in an all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving God. He is with us in the storm and cradles us through the storm.

One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.

Our Daily Bread – October 42, 2014