Hello Brethren!

Hope your minds and hearts have been well guarded in Christ Jesus!! Am personally grateful for God’s grace and mercy so sufficiently provided in my journey day in day out!🙏 I testify that the Lord has been good to me and my soul is a witness of his faithfulness and love😇🤗!!

So I have been trying to move past chapter eight of Matthew in my personal reading but I keep on being drawn back. So much so that I feel the urge to write another post on the same chapter. The previous post was based on verse 1-4. For this post, let us please focus on verse 23-27

Jesus Calms the Storm
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!

The first thing I notice about this specific passage of scripture is that the storm began suddenly. The NIV hard copy I have states “Without warning, a furious storm….”. So the disciples had decided to follow Christ but trouble came upon them as they were in the Good Shepherd’s presence. So this for me, implies that just because we confess Christ as Lord and Savior does not exempt us from various trials and tribulations in our lives. We should actually expect them even the more as a result of being in Christ. I mean the devil is not pleased of this fact. Remember in the previous verses from 18-22, some of the disciples wanted to leave and attend to personal matters before giving their full devotion, but Jesus encouraged them otherwise.

The Cost of Following Jesus
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

You may have severally heard sermons about these two passages of scripture and its interpretation and implication in our earthly lives. My focus, however, is on the first passage, and it is interesting how there is repeat of the words winds and waves. Geography enthusiasts know that wind is caused by differences in the atmospheric pressure. When this difference exists, air moves from the higher to the lower pressure area, resulting in winds of various speeds. The cause of the difference in pressure across the globe is the uneven heating of the earth’s surface from the sun. The Sea of Galilee (also known as Sea of Tiberias or the Sea of Gennesaret) is known for sudden storms. According to Dr. Donald B. DeYoung of Creation Research Society, it lies 680 feet below sea level with its greatest depth being just 200ft. Then the topography of Galilee contributes to the vicious and sudden storms. On the east are hills about 2000 feet above sea level. In the hills the air is relatively cool and dry, whereas on the other sides of the sea the climate is semitropical with warm, moist air. This, therefore causes considerable difference in air pressure, which in turn causes air to move from high pressure to low pressure creating wind. The greater the pressure difference, the stronger the winds. These winds are funneled through the hills and cause tempests on the sea.

Scrutinising the above passage, one will note that verse 24 describes the problem causing fear of drowning in the disciples was the waves that were sweeping over the boat. If the storm occurred with the absence of strong waves, would they have woken Jesus up? But is there really such a thing as a storm in a water body without water waves? So, when Jesus woke up, he rebuked not just the waves but the winds too. He saw the importance of addressing the problem from its source, which in this case was the winds that actually caused the waves. It is my belief that when he rebuked the winds, this calmed the difference in the atmospheric pressure in that time and hence, the total calmness. The disciples saw the waves, the physical result of the various changes in the atmosphere, but Jesus saw what was behind the physical result.

Am tempted to talk about the ‘rebuke’ interpretation on the disciples, but let me focus on the winds and waves for today!! Typical me, my thoughts going ahead of myself 😇😊🤣!!

My message to you and me today is that our Lord Jesus is willing and also able to calm both the winds and waves in our lives. He has the ability to bring everything under his control. So what are the waves you see today and in the future that are causing fear? Can you trust our Good Shepherd to solve both what you can see and what you cannot. Sometimes, it maybe matters within us that need sorting out or the wicked schemes of the evil one. Whatever it is he is able and willing to bring peace in the midst of any storm🙏🙌💃😇!!

So what is our role in all this? Asking through prayer..Yes. Is that all? What about desiring to perceive the winds and tap into the power in us to rebuke both the winds and waves? Is rebuking only meant for Jesus? This verse comes to mind as I write this..Luke 10:19.. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. My prayer is that we desire to discern the winds in our lives that cause the waves we see as a result. This will then guide us to pray with understanding of the real source of our problems. May the Holy Spirit truly take his place as our Helper in this journey of faith. Amen!! Thank you so much for your time and God bless. See you next week Friday!!🙋😊

#SeaofGalilee #Jesuscalmsthestorm #Peace #Hopeforyouandme