Faith, not storms of life, will control our destiny

A simple passage of Scripture, spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples, will help us to relate to the experience they must have felt, allowing us to make a practical application to our own lives.

Luke 8:22 says, “Now on one of those days Jesus and his disciples got into a boat, and he said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ To them, it probably seemed like a simple task. As they sailed along, however, a fierce gale of wind descended upon the lake, along with surging waves and tumultuous seas. The disciples became fearful and were afraid the boat would sink and they would all drown.

Jesus, with them, was asleep on the boat. Out of fear, the disciples awakened him. To their marvel, he rebuked the winds and the waves and the sea became calm again. This is an amazing Scripture with a powerful meaning. Applying this to our lives will help us to understand a few things and give us hope and victory through our personal storms.

First, storms of life do not control our destiny. When Jesus told the disciples to go to the other side, he was already aware they would encounter a storm. Their destination remained the same; it was the other side of the lake. The storm, in all its fury, was there to encourage faith; not deter their destiny.

The storms in our life are there to make us, not destroy us. When we feel like we are in the middle of nowhere, with waves and winds crashing into our lives, we are still heading to our destination. We may not be able to see it, and the circumstances may not indicate it, but we are moving forward, even through the storm. Fear not, Jesus is on the boat and he is in control.

Second, lack of faith in the midst of the storm does not constitute failure. We serve a great God who is able to work things out for our good, regardless. For us it would be a much easier journey if we always walked in a tremendous amount of faith during difficult times. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The more we look at the storms, the bigger they get. But, our lack of faith does not disqualify us from the plan that the Lord has for our lives. God is bigger than that!

We may be out in the middle of the sea, with raging winds and water entering our boat. It looks like the storm will never end and that the boat is about to sink with us in it. It may be to the point where it makes us sick to our stomachs, with our cry being, “I can’t take anymore!” It’s at that time that we should listen for the quiet whisper of a loving voice saying, “Peace – be still, and know that I am God.” Jesus is on our side, in our boat, and he will see us through. To those who call him Lord, we have the assurance that the storms will pass, despite our faith level. Simply, our prayer should be, “Lord, help my unbelief and take me through the storm to the other side.”

Third, all storms end. The storms come into our lives, to pass out of our lives. This too shall pass. The command of Jesus to the disciples was “let us go” to the other side of the lake. We will get there. We will make it through. Jesus is in control of our storms, and will work it all out for our good.

Soon we will glance over our shoulder, take a look back, the storm is over, the waters are calm and we have arrived at the other side.

The storm was the preparation for possession of our blessing. Pray and hold on to Jesus. Continue to believe. It’s only wind and water.

The author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, is in the boat.

XPatty Scahill of Austintown, who is a conference speaker, author and hospice chaplain, attends Christian Life Church in Canfield.