Luke 8:19-25
By: Alexander Rico
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 arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!’ (Luke 8:19-25, NKJV)
Looking at these verses found in the gospel of Luke, we are immediately brought to the awareness of a situation, aren’t we? Here are the twelve disciples, slowly cruising along on a lake when all of a sudden a tremendous windstorm comes along and turns their serene, stunning, and magnificent sight-seeing tour of the countryside into a dreadful ” …three hour tour.”
It was in this time, that they began to cry out in fear, and desperation to Jesus. Does this remind you of something, or someone? I know it does for me. To me, this reminds me, of me; and, perhaps to you, it reminds yourself of you.
When a terrible storm begins to brew in the midst of our perfect day, we automatically begin to freak out, don’t we? We loose our jobs or someone close in our family passes away, and we begin to feel that when it rains, it pours! Why? Because, we think that everything bad is the end of everything. It is in these times that we cry out to the Lord, just as these disciples had. We scream out, “LORD SAVE ME!”
I once heard this story about a little boy who had been playing in a tree. His name was Dennis. One day, Dennis was up there climbing around, when suddenly he slipped and began to fall to the ground below. As he fell, he cried out, “Lord save me!” Suddenly there was a momentary pause, and then Dennis’ voice, “Never mind, Lord. My pants just caught a branch.”
Sure, we may all laugh, but isn’t this like us? A situation occurs and we begin to scream out the Lord to save us from it? It is in these times that we should ask ourselves, as Jesus asked his disciples after rebuking the storm in their lives. He simply asked, “Where is your faith?”
Where is our faith?
Let’s take a step back real fast. What is faith? Well, Berlitz Dictionary of American English states that it is, “to believe in,” or better yet, “belief in a favorable result with no factual proof.”
The book of Hebrews says that faith is, “[…] the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV)
An old European monastery is perched high on a 500-foot cliff. Visitors ride up there in a big basket, pulled to the top with a ragged rope. On one occasion, a visitor nervously asked the monk that was in the basket along with him, “How often do you change the rope?” The monk causally replied, “Whenever the old one breaks.”
We have to have faith, like this visitor, that when we come into these situations, this big basket of life, that Christ will take care of us and that these things are for HIS purpose and plan in our lives. We need to trust Christ to keep us safe, even if the waves of the storm pound our tiny vessels.
A lot of the OT/NT (Old & New Testament) characters and prophets were faced with difficult situations, but the Bible tells us that they overcame these obstacles through faith! (Hebrews 11:30-40)
So why fear the situations that come our way? Instead of fretting and fearing them, let us step out in faith knowing that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will be there protecting us, and helping us to overcome these situations and problems in our lives!
Maybe today, you are reading this, and do not know about this relationship to which I am speaking. If that is the case; then, by all means, please join me in this simple prayer of acceptance, asking Jesus into your heart, mind, and soul. Why? Well, the Bible says in Romans Chapter 8 verses 9 and 10 that, ” …if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart, God raised him from the dead, you will be saved!! For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved!!” So what are you waiting for? Please repeat after me.
“Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner, and take this time to confess all my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Come into my heart, my mind, and my soul. Take complete control, and be LORD of my life. Help me to have this faith, and stand firm knowing that you are in control! I ask these things all in your precious holy name, AMEN.”
If you prayed that prayer along with me, I’d like to announce that today, the moment you accepted Christ into your life the Bible says, “[…] there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner represents.” (Luke 15:10)
So, just like that, you are SAVED! Before, you may have been screaming out for help, and now the Lord has come into your life and has taken residence in your heart. You can walk now knowing that no matter what happens, you are protected, and even if something was to happen. You know that it’s for a good reason, and never for bad.
Now, after receiving Christ into your heart, and life, there are several things you should do to continue to grow in a relationship with God.
- Read the Bible This is God’s love letter to you. It also provides us with a foundation for relationships with others, and tells us about attitudes, motivation and truth. It is important to know, and enlist the principles in the Bible into your life, they keep you on the right way and allow us to make sound judgments concerning people and doctrine.
- Prayer In any relationship communication is important, priority factor. God desires to communicate with each of us. Prayer is not just a forum for requests. God wants to hear our feelings, hurts, ambitions and joys. Through this he is able to change and refine those parts of us that need it.
- Fellowship Get plugged into a church or local group that studies the bible. As we begin to share with others what we have learned from the Bible and prayer, we encourage others to grow and ourselves. Fellowship as God planned it is not a clicke or special club designed for gossip. We must be careful to keep our conversations with others honest. It’s best described as a fire. One coal alone dies down quickly, but a mound of coals burn white hot, just as one Christian alone will struggle to stay ‘on fire’, while a group together keeps each other hot.
- Witnessing “Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15). Jesus gave this as a command, not an option. God has chosen all Christians to be agents of His gospel. We are either missionaries or mission fields. That does not mean that everyone should travel to different countries, but it does mean that no matter where go we should be prepared in life and in word to be ambassadors for Christ. “Pray for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Ephesians 6:9)
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