AND THEY ARRIVED!

AND THEY ARRIVED!

Luke 8:22-26

22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

          On the other side of the lake a desperate man lived in a graveyard. Tremendous spiritual energy would be required to battle the innumerable demons that held him so Jesus took a nap in the boat. As the waves leisurely lapped the boat a storm came down but Jesus remained asleep. It was hard to tell the difference between being asleep and being assured. The disciples were neither.

          The life of faith seems to be cyclical. We begin with faith then comes challenge, doubt, rebuke, provision and then back to faith. With each cycle our faith should grow and this is the reason God allows so many challenges to come our way. He wants to produce in us GREAT faith and great faith cannot grow without great challenges.

          In the boat were experienced seamen. They had seen storms before – but nothing like this. My guess is that they let Jesus sleep on until they were at the end of themselves and were convinced they were going to die. It was humanly hopeless so it was time to wake Jesus! These experienced seamen did not say “I think we are in trouble.” They did not say “we might drown!” They said “We perish.” I find it almost comical that they didn’t want Jesus to miss it.

          Jesus did not immediately address the wind. He addressed the worried disciples. His question “Where is your faith?” must have cut like a knife. Matthew 8:26 tells us that they had faith but it was “little faith.” He arose and rebuked the wind. As suddenly as it came down, the wind became calm. Oh, this is what we long to have happen in our troubled lives! Gladly we take the rebuke of our little faith if Jesus would only calm our storm.

          They arrived! The significance of this should not be missed. No, they did not perish. Yes, it was exciting and frightening, but there was no real damage done to either ship or sailors. They arrived! They were not cast upon some forsaken shore but they arrived at the destination predetermined by Jesus. This is what we must believe – that God will bring us to his predetermined destination for us. Yes, we may have storms along the way, but we will arrive. We will arrive amazed because we will have seen His amazing power.

Dear Jesus, some are on a sea of calm but a storm is brewing. Some are struggling to hold on while their ship is tossed. They may be convinced that they are perishing. Lord, rebuke us if you must, but please calm the storm. Help us to trust that we will arrive! AMEN