the other side of the storm

I'm one of those people who can sleep through anything. For instance, every night I set six alarms; and every morning I sleep through five of them. But somehow I don't think I could have slept through the storm in Luke 8:22-25.

Picture this: Twelve disciples and their teacher all pile in a boat and Jesus instructs them to cross over the sea of Galilee. No big deal- at least four of the guys were seasoned fishermen- they knew the routine. Jesus curls up and falls asleep. All is well in the world.

And then comes the storm. Not uncommon- in fact, the Sea of Galilee is infamous for these kind of storms. The Sea of Galilee sits like a basin 700 ft. below sea level with mountains and hills on every side. Cold fronts brought violent wind storms over the hills resulting in thrashing waves up to seven feet tall. This is no laughing matter. The disciples panic. Fearing for their lives, they turn to sleeping Jesus. Desperate, they wake Him. "MASTER! MASTER! DON'T YOU CARE?! WE'RE GOING TO DROWN!"

The sovereign Savior woke from His slumber and silences the storm. The sea is still and the wind stopped.

"Where is your faith?"

What an unfair question. It was Jesus who suggested this journey in the first place.

The disciples turn to one another, amazed and yet afraid- "Who can this be? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey Him!"

Maybe that's it... WHO is this object of our faith? In perfect sovereignty, Christ gave His disciples an opportunity to trust Him. Someone once said "Faith not tested can't be trusted." So here was the test. Jesus Christ is the object of our faith. We can trust that when He calls us to "cross over to the other side, He's gonna go with us and we will make the journey. He's given us a direction and promised us a destination, and when disaster strikes- the decision is ours! We can be confident even when the boat gets rocked because our God is capable; He is faithful. He is sovereign to take us THROUGH the storms to the other side.

Where is your faith? For faith is only as strong as its object!

Don't tell your God how big the storm is. Tell your storm how big your God is!