O We of Little Faith

“And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?  Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.  But the men marveled, saying, What manner of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!”  Matthew 8:26-27

Jesus told the disciples to get the boat ready for a trip across the sea of Tiberias (Sea of Galilee).  They would be going into the country of Gadara which was east of the Jordan River.  This was in the territory belonging to the descendants of the tribe of Gad.  The journey from Capernaum to their destination could have been made on foot because Capernaum was at the far northern end of the Sea of Galilee, but Jesus knew that an opportunity for Him to show His power and so strengthen the faith of the twelve who accompanied Him was about to present itself.  Jesus “never let a crisis go to waste”, but His motive was always one to benefit folks and glorify His Father.  He could always turn a desperate situation around to bring glory and honor to His loving Father.

The human side of Jesus was exhausted from all the travel, healings, and teachings that He had been doing, thus He found a quiet place on board to catch some shuteye.  While He was fast asleep, a storm arose on the sea.  The disciples were beside themselves with fear.  They awoke Jesus and begged Him to do something to save their lives.  They knew that He could do a miracle because they had recently witnessed Him as He healed Peter’s mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15) and a man who had leprosy (Matthew 8:2-4).  Upon awaking, Jesus first rebuked them for their lack of faith which was evident from their fear.  They apparently couldn’t just trust in His presence with them; they wanted to see something done then and there.

Jesus calmed the storm with a rebuke.  (These folks who have made a religion out of “climate change” think that man can control the weather.  They really need to come into a relationship with the One who really does control the weather!)  What I find funny, yet so typical of most of us believers, is that the disciples “marveled” when Jesus calmed the storm.  I can picture them begging Him to make the sea become peaceful, and when He did, they acted surprised.  But we are no different from them.  We can’t just trust His will; we want to immediately see action on His part to calm our storms.  And then when He answers our prayers, we act surprised.  O, we of little faith!

There is an old gospel song written in 1905 by C.A. Tindley.  He was an African American pastor who led a growing church in Philadelphia.  Of course, any man of God who is leading people to Christ and making a difference in this old sin-cursed world is bound to suffer criticism, even from those whom he assumes to be close friends.  It was during a time of harsh criticisms and attacks that he wrote “Stand By Me”.  The first verse reminds me of Jesus and the disciples on the stormy Sea of Galilee:  “When the storms of life are raging, stand by me; When the storms of life are raging, stand by me.  When the world is tossing me like a ship upon the sea, Thou Who rulest wind and water, stand by me.”  That’s a good word.