FAITH CAPSULE: It does not matter when or where storm take its charge Jesus is there to discharge your storm.

Psalm 121, Matthew 8: 23-27
 
Stormy challenges often  accompany the journey of life. With Jesus on board, any storm that rises will rest and not sink man. Have you accepted Jesus into your life? Often, stormy challenges are meant to build us up for future endeavors. Jesus Christ, in all His teachings and demonstrations, prepared His disciples for all they will have to carry after His ascension to Heaven. Twice in the book of Matthew, Jesus led His disciples through storm and also directed them into the middle of storm. The Bible documented the first storm, “Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. (Matthew 8:23-24) In their first encounter with storm, the disciples followed Him into a boat. Knowing Jesus for who He is, what will happen was not hidden from Him. Surely, He must have known there was going to be storm before He went to sleep. Despite the presence of Jesus in the boat, the fear from the storm stormed the life of the disciples. The fact that the disciples witnessed several miracles performed by Jesus, they could not hold on to faith when storm struck their vessel. Matthew 8:25, “Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’” Jesus’ presence is always a salvation and He has never ceased from doing miracles. He was the same yesterday and today. When fear rises, faith sinks. The storm took over as the disciples caved in to fear. Is there any raging storm that is building fear in your life? What can you do besides to hope and trust in Him, especially if you have followed Him to where He is leading you to? When the disciples went and woke up Jesus, He responded in Matthew 8:26, “But He said to them, ’Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” It does not matter when or where storm take its charge in our journey of life, know from this encounter of the disciples that Jesus is there to discharge your storm. The experience of the storm demonstrated to us that Jesus will never sleep over when we need His delivering presence. Remember, Jesus neither sleeps nor slumbers through any storm of life. Let faith rise and the storm will eventually rest.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to stand and not fail in the face of storm.