Verse of the Day Devotion Luke 8:25 

“And He said to them, where is your faith? They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” – Luke 8:25  

This starts by Jesus telling His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” Luke 8:22b.  And after they had launched out, Jesus fell asleep.  And during this time, a great storm arose, with fierce winds descending upon the ship. And then, after some time had passed, the boat began to take on water.  And then we read, “And they came to Him and woke Him up, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! And being aroused, He rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.“ Luke 8:25.

It’s significant that Jesus’ sleep was deep and sound, even in the midst of the storm, which was already filling the boat with water. The scriptures say the sleep of a believer will be sweet and peaceful because he knows the Lord is with him.  David put it this way, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For Thou alone, O LORD, dost make me to dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8.  And in the Proverbs we read, “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” Proverbs 3:24.

Now, they went to Jesus and awakened Him.  “And they came to Him and woke Him up, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! And being aroused, He rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.” Luke 8:24.  Upon His waking up, He rebuked the wind and waves, and upon doing this, it became calm again. Now in the Gospel of Matthew, we see that He first rebuke the disciples, and then the sea. “And He said to them, why are you timid, you men of little faith? Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm.” Matthew 8:26.

Now the order of things is not the key point I want to bring out.  In our focus verse, we read “And He said to them, “Where is your faith? And they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” Luke 8:25.  He rebuked them for their lack of faith in Him.  The apostles’ lack of faith reminds us that even those who lived and walked with Jesus, saw His miracles, and heard His message still found it difficult to be 100 percent faith-filled all the time. In that way, the disciples were a lot like us. And their lack of faith was rebuked and, by extension, so is ours. If Jesus was able to rescue the apostles from the storm, He is also able to rescue us from the storms of everyday life: sickness, job loss, marriage problems, and even the sting of death.

I believe Jesus knew the storm was coming, for He knew all things. “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He Himself knew what was in man.” John 2:23-25. He is omniscient; even with a storm brewing, He decided to launch out to sea. The Lord never promised we will never see a storm in life. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. Rather, He has promised that He will be with us in the storm. He will never leave His children alone in the midst of trouble; with perseverance they will overcome. “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12.

In closing, Paul wrote this to the Church in Rome.  “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Romans 8:31-32. God is always on our side, and He will always do what is for our best good, even if we do not see it that way.  So, always remember.  If God is for us, we have nothing to be concerned about.  We can be at peace.  This is His promise to us.  In whatever trial we find ourselves enduring, relax and trust God that He will bring us through.  And herein lies our peace.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

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