Having Faith No Matter the Affliction

Luke 8:22-25

 “Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.’ And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ Then He aroused and rebuked the wind and the raging of water. And they ceased, and there was a calm”. (NKJV)

At first when I read this, I think to myself what were the disciples thinking? I first think of how little faith these disciples had when they were with Jesus on a lake. I have grown up hearing this bible story so much and every time I hear it I solely think of how little faith the disciples have. But we need to picture this situation before we judge. The disciples with Jesus on a boat and the winds start picking up. Jesus is sleeping peacefully while Peter and Andrew, both people who have spent their lives fishing, are scaling these waves. Now it is pretty likely that these brothers have been in some pretty tough waters while fishing and know how to read waves. Now when you put that into consideration and read that the disciples say “Master, Master, we are perishing!” then you know they must be in some pretty rough seas.

I know in my life I have had some pretty rough seas. I have been pummeled by the wind and waves and my little boat that was once on course was sinking and has lost direction. When your boat starts to fill up with water and you start to drown in the chaos, you need to pray to Jesus and have Him save you. What does Jesus do? When the disciples woke Him up, Jesus rebuked the wind and waves. Jesus saved them.

I know so many times I start to drown, but instead of calling to God I start bailing water and try to get to shore. I know that God can save me, but I don’t ask. I can’t describe my reasoning because it is just a feeling; an emotion that seems to be good reasoning in the moment, but is really just a lame excuse.

For my application of this verse, I am going to ask my roommates to, whenever I seemed overwhelmed or am sinking in the waves, encourage me to seek God and pray with me.