Scripture:
Matthew 8:23-27 NKJV
[23] Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. [24] And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. [25] Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” [26] But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. [27] So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Observation:
It wasn’t too long ago that I felt I needed to write about this portion of scripture, being brought back here again today really makes a statement, or at least it dies in my mind. To tell the truth i was having trouble finding where the Holy Spirit wanted me to be this morning and with everything going on in my life I honestly felt like it was necessary to remind myself who is in my boat. Due to the time it took to find where we needed to be this morning, I’m not left with a lot of time to write. It usually takes about 2 hours to put a SOAP together. So I will push through and be as thorough as possible. I believe the important thing to remember about what is going on in this scripture is the test of faith. You see before they got into the boat with the LORD to cross over to the other side. Jesus had spent the day teaching, one of the parables that HE had spoken about was the seed sower. I’m sure we all know it, and if not it’s found not only in Mark chapter 4 but Matthew chapter 13 as well. Jesus had been teaching on the shore of the sea of Galilee. As HE explained the seeds the disciples were totally unaware of the test that was about to take place. Even after the explanation was given to them in a personal conversation, they still missed it. Giving them the directions to get in the boat they followed. Tired from a long day of teaching, Jesus went to the front of the boat for a nap. The key words that were stated as they got in the boat were, “Let us cross over to the other side.” That was a statement that was given by the SON of GOD, the SAVIOR of the world. Now had the disciples been paying attention. That statement coupled with the fact that the LORD HIMSELF was in the boat comfortable enough to take a nap should have been enough to carry them to the other side regardless of the circumstances. HE had said, “Let us cross to the other side,” every word HE spoke came directly from the father. They were spoken in faith that the Father would do exactly what HE had directed HIS SON to say. Jesus knew that they would make it so sure that HE rested on what had been spoken. Now of course the disciples still looked at things through their eyes of flesh. At this point their faith was being shaped. As the storm began to blow waves over the edge of the boat, panic set in. The boat was filling up. That’s what they saw, and honestly there was no denying it. What they saw pressed against the statement of faith that was made by the LORD. That’s the way it works, it’s part of the deception. As the situation grew to look life threatening, so did the panic. The boat was filling up. How could HE just sleep, well the answer to that question comes from the faith HE had in the statement that was made, “let us cross over to the other side.” Now I know I have made that statement several times but it’s so incredibly important to see what is said by our LORD is what we need to stay focused on. Their desperation was finally too much for them to bear and they felt it necessary to wake up Jesus. They had no more answers, the storm was too much, the pressure was overwhelming, by all appearances they were sinking. Waking HIM up by crying out to HIM to save them, another statement was made all together. They had faith in the fact that HE is the answer. Even though they woke HIM out of panic their faith was in the SAVIOR, HE knew that a time was coming when they would have to have faith in what HE had said. That’s the place where we are today. As HE woke up HE rebuked the wind and waves, a calmness came over them that had not been there before. Even the wind and waves obey HIM. Seeing the opportunity to shape their faith HE asked a question, “Why are you fearful?” HE already knew the answer, it was because the faith they had needed to grow, it wasn’t the size of a mustard seed yet, as they marveled over what had just happened I’m sure the little bit of faith they had begun to grow, it had to, by the time we get to the book of acts we see their faith in full effect as they walk into the temple speaking healing in the name of Jesus.
Application:
The situation in life can be overwhelming. The way things look don’t always line up with what has been said by our LORD and SAVIOR. The question becomes do you believe what you see or what has been said. I’m here to say it’s easy to allow panic to make your decisions for you. I have done it, in fact it’s hard for me not to allow that to happen right now. The way things look is just not good. Standing on what GOD has said is difficult when everything looks like that’s not what’s going to happen. But here is what HE has said, and it’s the only thing that we can stand on, “Let’s cross over to the other side.” We are in a time that you can not trust what you see, and the deception we see is not going to get less. Just like HE was training the disciples to trust what HE had said, today it’s what we have, and that will always be tested. The word faith is powerful. It requires that you do not trust what you see, in fact what you see will more than likely push against what faith has said. HE is not going to allow you to sink. The question is will you have the faith to stand on what has been said or will you have to wake HIM from HIS nap and rest on HIS faith. Now here are my thoughts. By waking HIM your faith will grow, because you will see that HE has not left the boat, but if you can ride out the storm you will see that HIS word is final. You will see the other side because that’s what has been said. GOD’S word is what we have coupled with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, the very same Spirit that rose Christ from the dead, the teacher, the counselor, the helper, the one who will bring to our mind the things HE has spoken, the key is spending time with HIM so that you can hear HIM when HE speaks. Standing on GOD’S word will not be easy when all you see is wind and waves, but it’s the only way we will get to the other side, It’s impossible to please GOD without faith. Faith is believing what HE has said over what you see.
Prayer:
Father, your word is truth. We know the enemy will always do all he can to get us to stray from that. We are in a war, and if we can just get past what we see into what you say, we will see that the victory was never in question. The only question is are we willing to believe what you said over what we see. Today all I can do is thank you for your words. You have given us all the answers. If you do not do what your word says then you are a liar, and that is the one thing it is impossible for you to do, so we trust that you will finish what you have started. We will get to the other side. It’s what you have said and that’s the belt we have to cinch tightly around our waste to guard us from the fiery darts of the enemy. Darts of doubt and fear darts that our eyes see coming that are extinguished by that shield of faith that you have provided. A shield big enough to protect us from all the tactics HE may try to use. We love how you have given us all the answers. We pray that we can see you moving in our situations. Things look so overwhelming. But we trust what you say over what we see today. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.