And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” And He said to them, “Why are you timid, you men of little faith?” Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm. Matthew 8:23-26
I have marveled at this story lately. There is no one better at sleeping than Jesus. Who leads them into the boat? Jesus. What does He then do? Jesus curls up and goes to sleep. A huge storm stirs up. The disciples are experienced fishermen, so this is not their first storm. They are doing everything they can to stay afloat, but it gets so bad that they conclude that their situation is hopeless and that they are going to die. Finally, they awaken Jesus who is sleeping through the tumultuous waves, rain and lightning, and they cry out for Him to save them. Mark’s account indicates that they accuse Him of not caring that they are about to die. How dare He sleep when they are about to all die!
I see so much of myself in these guys. I have had the privilege of taking a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It didn’t seem that big or intimidating, but I was told that storms pop up quickly and are intense. It was hard to imagine a storm on such a calm day. I have been going through the storms of life lately, and honestly, they are not fun. I have lost some sleep while trying to figure out how God is going to solve my problems. I have heard the Spirit gently challenge my lack of faith in the midst of the storm. I know that behind all fear is unbelief. So, when I am feeling afraid, I am choosing to not believe that God loves me and is with me. He is in control of my storms just like He was in charge of the storm in Matthew.
I want His faith to be my faith. I want to stay focused on His presence and love, even when it feels like He is unconcerned about me and is asleep. Storms are the very things that He uses to strengthen my faith. I still don’t like them, but I am glad that they serve a purpose. Lord Jesus, give me Your faith, and sleep through me!