ROCKING THE BOAT
Opening Prayer
Holy God, may this day reverberate with the praises to you that I cannot hold back. You deserve nothing less.
Read Matthew 8:23–27
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!”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Ask God to show you something new from this event that will make a difference in your life.Storms on Lake Galilee were not unusual. But this one was different. Jesus slept through the commotion while seasoned fishermen feared for their lives, convinced they were going to drown (v 25). Read verse 26 again. How powerfully Jesus demonstrated his supreme power and authority! All it took was a few words and, as at creation, he commanded, and it happened (see Genesis 1:9,10). King Canute acknowledged God’s authority. Allegedly, in 1028 AD, he commanded the incoming tide to stop. One record states that, when it didn’t ‘the king leapt backwards, saying, “Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but he whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws.”’*
But do we get it? What does this mean for us, now? Remember, the Son of God himself is in the boat with us! When we acknowl- edge that, ultimately, it’s Jesus who is in control of everything, we can be still and have the peace that only God can give (Philippians 4:7). When we cry, ‘Lord, save us!’ he always responds.
Apply
Use verses from Psalm 46 as a prayer of thanks to God for his presence and his power. Bring to God whatever storms are raging around you (or someone known to you).
Closing prayer
Dear Jesus, just as you replaced for the disciples the great shaking of the storm with a great calm, replace the storms in my life with that same great calm.
*The Chronicle by Henry of Huntingdon, a twelfth-century English historian.
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