Oh! The Power of Jesus

Oh! The Power of Jesus

Recently, my family has been in a storm. We have been fighting the winds of sickness for quite a while now. The tendency during these times is to cry out to Jesus and say “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown.” Troubles come our way, and our focus is somehow diverted from the truth. The father of lies tries to tell us that we are all alone in our troubles. Satan is WRONG! We looked at this a little last week as Jesus spoke on this very issue in the Sermon on the Mount. Following His sermon, Jesus heals a man with leprosy, the centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, and many who were demon possessed. In order to get away from the huge crowds, Jesus decided to take a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. I can only imagine how Jesus felt at this time. I am sure that He was completely exhausted. Have you ever been there? You get so caught up in doing great things for others, that your body tells you it is time to get away. I think that is what happened to me last Wednesday night. I had been so busy with work and family sickness that my body finally said “enough is enough” and shut down on me. I think that is where we find Jesus in Matthew chapter 8. He got into the boat with his disciples and immediately went to sleep. While on the boat, a “furious storm” came up. These storms were common on the Sea of Galilee. The sea is surrounded by mountains and as the cool air from the Mediterranean clashes with the hot, humid air off the lake, huge storms come up quickly. That is exactly what happened here in Matthew.
The disciple’s reaction was very similar to our reaction when we are in a storm. We so often rush to the assumption that Jesus is not concerned with our troubles. We think that because Jesus does not stop the storm from happening, then He must not be concerned about our situation. All we have to do is read just a few chapters in Matthew to see that this is not true. The disciples frantically woke Jesus up and begged Him to save them. Jesus did not wake up in a panic nor was He ignorant of the fact that they were in a storm. He simply, in one command, calmed the storm. The power of Jesus is so great that if it is in His will to calm your storm, HE WILL. Many times though, that is not the case. Jesus allows us to go through storms sometimes to help us grow in our faith. These times are not easy, but we must rest in the fact that Jesus is with us every step of the way. Even when we do not see His active hand, we must trust His heart.

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart

In His Hands,
Aaron Hodges