24 They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.
25 And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” Luke 8:22-25.
What did Jesus mean by “Where is your faith?”? Did Jesus mean: “Didn’t you know that I could calm the seas?”? Or, did Jesus mean: “Why didn’t you trust God to take care of you through this storm?”?
At first reading, I think most of us would think that Jesus meant something like the first question I posed. But, after comparing the two possible meanings, I think Jesus meant something like the second question. There is practical importance to this matter.
Verse 25 leads us to believe that the disciples had never witnessed such a miracle by Jesus or anyone else nor even thought of such a possibility. Therefore, I do not think Jesus is criticizing His disciples for their lack of faith that He could do this miracle. By their nature, miracles are surprising. They are beyond our natural understanding that they are possible. And, this was a particularly unique miracle, not just another miraculous healing.
Rather, I think Jesus perceived a lack of faith (by their question: “”Master, Master, we are perishing!”) that God would take care of them through this storm.
Like the disciples, we tend to panic, and we think that God “slipped up” and allowed something to occur beyond His control. We doubt His sovereign control. We doubt His love for us. We doubt His care for us.
We think that God fell asleep.
We think that we should wake up God and that we should dictate how He should remedy His neglect.
But, God never falls asleep. “Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:4.
God “… preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation …”. See Question and Answer 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism.
We tend to demand that God calm the storms in our lives. And, often, God does calm the storms in our lives. But, sometimes, God wants us to ride out the storms, trusting Him that He will get us through those storms.
For me, most of the storms in my life have been financial. I tend to demand that God cause the check to be delivered to me today! And, often, the check is delivered within my comfort time zone. But, sometimes, the check is not delivered within my comfort time zone.
I often think of one time, years ago, when such check was not delivered within my comfort time zone. Not only did I have bills that were due, I did not even have lunch money. This was a real storm to me!
I grumbled, thinking: “Here, I am, God, doing all this great work for You, and I am even delivering something to my Pastor during lunch hour, and I am hungry and don’t have lunch money!”
God could have justly smacked me across the room, but He brought me to a room where the Pastor was walking me through the fellowship hall, talking to me. At that time and place, the ladies of the church were having a potluck lunch, and they insisted that I sit down and have lunch. Each lady seemed to compete with the other ladies to put forth their own dish in front of me, insisting that I eat some of each of their dishes.
I still grumbled a little, thinking the check still had not arrived, but the delicious food dissipated those fleeting grumblings. I had to crack a smile, thinking: “OK, God, I am having a great lunch.”
Later, the bills were paid. But, more importantly, God built up my faith.
In conclusion, it is OK to pray the check arrives in the mail. It is OK to pray that God will calm whatever storm may arise in our lives. But, we need to understand that sometimes God wants us to ride out that storm, and we should never show a lack of faith by thinking that God is asleep or that He messed up or that He does not love us or care for us.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 