23 Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 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. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!” Matthew 8:23-27
Have you ever wondered why Jesus allowed this incident to happen? Jesus could have made it so there was no storm at all. He could have made it so that He was awake and at the ready the moment the first wave arose. Yet He allowed the wind and the waves to be present for a while. He allowed His disciples to wrestle and ponder as He was asleep. It seems to me that Jesus was carving out space for His disciples draw nearer to Him and have a greater faith in who He is. As the depth of their own inability surfaced, it created space for them to cry out to Jesus for what only He could do. As the storms raged it created a scenario that taught the disciples that Jesus is Lord of Heaven and Earth and that if He is in your boat, you can have complete peace.
I don’t believe Jesus is primarily interested in calming raging seas. That is not why He became incarnate and came to earth. He came to earth to reveal that He is Lord and Savior and to give us peace. Peace is possible in life knowing Jesus is with us when our faith is in Him.
Now picture this. The seas are raging, the wind is blustering, the rain is pelting down, the boat is being tossed about. Jesus rebukes the storm and suddenly there is complete calm. The water is still as glass. The wind isn’t even whispering. What would it look like for Jesus to have this effect in your own soul? We might rage with anger, feel anxiety swelling up, or be filled with chaos. Jesus is Lord over all of this too. Draw near to Him and cast your cares upon Him, for He cares about you. Remember that He is in your boat, and He is for you. As we trust in Him, I pray Jesus calms our raging seas. Maybe there will still be storms all around, but we can have peace within knowing that Jesus is in our boat.