How do you respond when your world is shaken? Fear? Panic? Calling out to Jesus? Blaming Jesus? Does it drive you to a vice or coping mechanism? None of us are exempt from having our world shaken and turned upside down. Our response when that happens is what matters. I’ve let those times push me away from God, cause me to be cold towards Him and find coping mechanisms to deal with the pain. I usually try to repair the situation myself first, and if I can’t (or make things worse), I then go to God. In the long term it’s boosted my faith. However, I believe God uses life altering moments to give us an opportunity to exercise our faith.
In Matthew 8:23-27, Jesus and the disciples get into a boat, after a long day of performing miracles, to cross the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was exhausted and fell asleep while the disciples rowed. Verse 24 says, “Suddenly a violent storm developed, with waves so high the boat was about to be swamped. Yet Jesus continued to sleep soundly” (TPT). The Greek word for “violent” in this text is the same word used for earthquake. Their world was being shaken and Jesus was asleep giving them the opportunity to exercise their faith after watching Him perform miracles. Instead they turned to fear and panic. They woke Him up and He calmed the storm. Jesus asked why they had so little fear implying that they could have spoken to the storm and calmed it themselves.
When’s the last time you spoke to the storm? It’s good to turn to Jesus in our time of need, but He’s also given us the authority to speak to our storms in His name. Luke 10:19 says, “Now you understand that I have imparted to you my authority to trample over his kingdom. You will trample upon every demon before you and overcome every power Satan possesses. Absolutely nothing will harm you as you walk in this authority.” It’s time you and I began to walk in the authority that has been given to us. Storms are designed to take the training wheels off, not to get us to rely on them more. Speak with the authority of Jesus’ name into your storm, trust God to do His part and walk in faith believing He will answer. Your life shaking storm should cause faith to rise up, not fear.
Photo by Shashank Sahay on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 