Every morning for the last couple of weeks I have woken up with the chorus of this song stuck in my head. I'm thankful, (there are worse things I could have stuck in my brain, like "Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo..." See what I mean?)
This morning, while H.E.A.R. journaling through Matthew, I came to Matthew 8:23-27 where Jesus gets on a boat to get away from the crowds, and His disciples got on with Him. As they were on the Sea of Galilee a great storm blew up, (fairly common for that area) and the boat was taking on water. The disciples were frantically trying to keep the ship afloat, but Jesus was asleep in the boat. In desperation they woke Him up and asked Him to save them for they felt like they were about to sink. Jesus gets up, not panicked at all; He speaks first to His disciples (perhaps in a “scolding” way), “Why are you afraid, where is your faith?” Then He speaks to the storm, and there was a great calm came over the sea. And those who were on the boat were amazed at Jesus wondering, “Who is this that even nature obeys Him?”
What a picture of life - I am following Jesus and thinking it will be smooth sailing because He is there. Then the storms of life hit (which He promised would happen) and I frantically try to keep the ship afloat, thinking I can do it if I just work hard enough, if I just have the right strategy or follow the right formula. Finally in desperation and fear, I cry out to Jesus for help, because my situation seems hopeless and it seems like I'm going down with the ship. And He responds by reminding me that I have no reason to fear, only to believe. Then He speaks and the storm passes, I survive, and all is well... until the next time, LOL.
I've repeated this scene so many times in my life, you'd think I would have learned by now... and I am learning...slowly... it's a process. Fear and faith don't go together - one drives out the other - but I decide which one drives. So the Lord reminds me again, my fear doesn’t stand a chance when I live in faith and stand in His love, and so I ask Him (again) to forgive me when I forget to believe, and we're off again...
Storms will come and go, but Jesus will always be there, and when we live in faith in Him, His presence, His love and grace, and His power ... our fear doesn't stand a chance!
