Luke 8:22-25 – The Lord of the storm

The Sea of Galilee has a unique geography. Technically, it is a lake. This five miles wide and thirteen miles long lake is surrounded by imposing mountain gorges and deep ravines. How it is structured made it way below sea level. The presence of the ravines had also made it into a natural gigantic funnel. Winds often get trapped in the nature-made funnel, creating turbulence and generating storms. Though geography lessons say that storms will never occur in a lake, yet in this Lake of Galilee, storms were a common occurrence because of the structure.

Jesus and His disciples have had a very long day of ministry. They had ministered to the large throngs of people and at the end of the day, they needed a break. So Jesus directed His disciples to cross the lake to the other side. And as the boat was sailing along, Jesus, like any human, was also feeling tired and weary after a day of hectic ministry. So He moved to the stern of the boat and reclined on a cushion and soon fell asleep. And suddenly without any warning, a fierce gale of wind blew, creating turbulence in the lake and the boat was engulfed by the waves. This certainly was a divine storm. God had appointed it so that they could learn precious lessons from the storm. Know it or not, we all grow faster through storms than through calm. When things are quiet in life we tend to take them for granted. Hence God often allows storms to be a part of our learning process. Think through all your trials in life, aren’t they the moments that had brought you nearer to trust the Lord to see you through? Afflictions, when endured with faith and trust, always make us better. Perhaps some of us are facing a storm and we can’t trace the source. Take heart, for the Lord who allows the storm is the Lord of the storm. Robert Browning Hamilton had this to say:

I walked a mile with Pleasure;

She chatted all the way;

But left me none the wiser,

For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow;

And ne'er a word said she;

But, Oh! The things I learned from her, 

When Sorrow walked with me. 

 

Notice that in verse 24, we see the disciples came to Jesus. They found Him asleep. The reason He could remain asleep, despite the howling wind and the deluge of water flooding the boat, can only be that He trusted God the Father absolutely. The disciples thought that Christ was unware of their plight. We need to know that Christ is not oblivious of what each one of us is going through. Neither is He unconcerned. When facing a trail, some people would entertain thoughts like: “Does He really care?” “Is He even aware of the trials we are facing?” Of course Jesus is aware of every wave we encounter. He knows exactly how we feel and how we think.  Remember He said, “Lo, I am with you even to the end of the age!” He is traveling with us in whatever we are going through.

The disciples were stricken by fear and panic. For a moment they thought that they would be drowned. They imagined that all of them, including the Lord, was going to perish. This is a picture of how many believers would panic in a trial. It’s so common that a storm can cause us to lose sight of our destiny in Christ. But when Christ awoke, He just calmly rebuked the wind and it stop immediately. We cannot truly know the impact till we know the extent of the calm that resulted from Jesus’ command, described by Luke. The wind and every surge of waves immediately ceased. There was complete silence, till one could even hear a pin drop.

“Where is your faith?” Jesus asked. Of all people they should have more faith in Jesus. They were with Him when He healed the centurion’s servant at a distance. They were with Him when He raised the dead son of the widow at Nain. What’s more, they had been with the Master, saw the miraculous and heard and absorbed all His authoritative teachings. But in a moment of fear, everything they had known and experienced just vanished into thin air. This is also true of us, isn’t it? When fear comes, every reason we have for trusting Christ departs.

As the disciples rode the calm and still sea after the storm, their senses returned. They asked, “Who then is this that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” It affirms that Christ is truly Lord over nature. Everything in nature, the wind, the weather and the climate are all under His control. He is the giver and sustainer of life. What storms are we encountering right now? Know that He is the Lord over our storms. Nothing can ever take us down for we are in loving hands. In all these things Paul said we are more than