40 Days of MiraclesSample

Jesus Calms a Storm on the Sea

Before Jesus calmed the storm, He had just performed several miracles and healed people, yet as soon as the storm started to rage, the disciples were terrified that they might drown. The disciples wake Jesus up, and He calms the sea. They then look upon Him with fear at the power He has just displayed. When Jesus performed miracles for other people, the disciples were impressed, but it took a moment of feeling their own mortality and weakness to truly realize the power of Jesus and their need for it.

The way the disciples react to Jesus in this story reminds me of how I sometimes react when storms happen in my own life. Regardless of the storm, big or small, I will sometimes doubt the redeeming power of Jesus over my situation. It is easy to trust Jesus in theory, but once we are in the middle of something, it takes faith to trust in Jesus FIRST. It makes you think, if Jesus calmed a literal storm, does He not have the power to calm the storm within your own life?

Questions for Reflection

• Was Jesus' sleeping an example of His faith in His Father?
• Jesus asks His disciples, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?." Do you view this as a real question He was asking of their faith? Or was it a rhetorical question since He just showed his power to them? Why or why not?
• How can we better prepare ourselves for the storms of life so that when they come, and they WILL, we can trust and lean into Jesus instead of instantly doubting that He has everything under control?