One day, during his earthly ministry, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat to cross a lake. As they sailed, a violent storm suddenly raged, tossing the boat around like a toy and quickly filling it with water. Frantic, the disciples went over to Jesus, who was peacefully asleep in the stern, and cried, "Master, master, we are dying!" (Luke 8:24, WEB) Upon waking, Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, commanding, "Peace, be still!" (Mark 4:39) Immediately, the wind and the sea calmed.
Jesus turned to his disciples, saying, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40) His disciples had been with him for many months, witnessing him performing numerous miracles, from giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, to the raising of the dead. Thus, their lack of faith in the midst of the storm was unfounded. Yet, we mustn't chide them alone for their little faith. When we're faced with life's storms, how many of us cry out, "We're dying!" ourselves? Our disbelief in God or in His powers and our lack of faith in Him is not because we have no evidences of God or His powers; we disbelieve in spite of an abundance of evidences.
While the ultimate reasons for our suffering lie in Yahweh's hands, one way that suffering works for our good is to test, strengthen, and refine our faith. Our faith (or lack of it) in God is revealed only when we're under stress. Only when the lights go out would we go fetch a flashlight and put batteries inside. Likewise, when there's no storm to agitate us, we would not know how much or how little of faith we have. If our circumstances don't require us to live in faith, we wouldn't even know that we need faith in the first place.
When you're being tossed around in storms, how do you react? Do you throw up your hands in fear and despair, or do you confidently look onward and upward to God to give you the strength to conquer the storms in victory? How much faith does the storms of life stir up in you? Let's pray that God our Creator and Jesus our Lord will endow us with peace that can calm the most violent of storms, just as Jesus had on that fateful day out in the middle of the lake 2000 years ago!
Dr. Shirley Cheng (b. 1983), a blind and physically disabled award-winning author with twenty-seven book awards, proclaimer of Jehovah God's good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, Summa Cum Laude (Highest Honor) graduate with Doctor of Divinity, motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, poet; author of nine books (including "Do You Love Jehovah?"), contributor to twenty-five, and an editor of one; and a parental rights advocate, has had severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since infancy. Owing to years of hospitalization, she received no education until age eleven. Back then, she knew only her ABCs and very simple English; other than that, her book knowledge was non-existent. However, after only about 180 days of special education in elementary school, she mastered grade level and entered a regular sixth grade class in middle school. Unfortunately, Shirley lost her eyesight at the age of seventeen. After a successful eye surgery, she hopes to earn multiple science doctorates from Harvard University. http://www.shirleycheng.com
Do you have questions about the Bible? Something you don't understand? Do you need a bit of guidance in developing a relationship with Jehovah? Then Shirley would like to help you! Please contact her via her site at http://www.shirleycheng.com and she would be more than glad to do her best to answer your questions! Never hesitate to ask questions, for no question about the Bible is ever too small or stupid.