"Master of the Wind & Waves"

I do not want to take any credit for this blog post.  This is something that I recently read that I wanted to put on my blog and pray it benefits someone else as it did for me.

Matthew 8:26 "But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, you of little faith?"

One of the hindrances to a faithful response to Jesus in the storms of our lives is our acute awareness that He let us get into the storm to begin with.  We would rather have a Savior who didn't sleep in the back of the boat.  We would prefer that He navigate us around the storms rather than deliver us from the middle of them.  But our God has never guarded His people from storms.  He even lets us suffer in them sometimes. Why?

Jesus could have navigated His company around that storm.  It blew up without warning, but the Lord of creation isn't surprised by anything.  He knew about the cross ahead of time, and He knew about this storm.  But if He had let the disciples avoid it, they would never have known Him as the Master of the winds and the waves.  They would not have asked the question: "What kind of man is this?"(vs.27).  They would not have known Jesus as their Deliverer that day.

Jesus lets us get into the middle of storms so we will know Him.  When we avoid the dangerous waters, we avoid the Deliverer.  When all is well, our faith only needs a Jesus who is asleep in the boat.  While that may be more comfortable to us, it subverts the purpose for which we were created.  We were made to know Him, and whether we like it or not, some of His characteristics can only be discovered in the deep, treacherous waters.

When we think we prefer our comfort to the storms of life--a universal tendency for us as humans, by the way--we are actually choosing stagnancy over fulfillment.  We must realize that we can't really know the Deliverer unless we need deliverance.  We can't know our Redeemer unless we need redemption.  We can't know our Refuge unless we experience danger.  Do we really seek comfort and ease?  No.  Deep down we want real faith.  We want to know the One who accompanies us--even in the storms. 

"As sure as ever God puts His children in the furnace, He will be in the furnace with them."

I would have never asked for cancer to come into my life, but I also wouldn't change anything about these past 8 months.  I have a Redeemer, a Deliverer, Gracious Father and so much more, that has carried me and continues to carry me through this journey.

"Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."