June 8: Enjoying His Peace.
HIS POWER.
Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.--Matthew 8:26
I don't like wind; I particularly don't like storms! I woke up in the middle of the night, in our brand-new home, to an eighty-mile-an-hour wind. After frantic calls to the authorities, I was informed that these were the Santa Ana winds; a "strong episode," they said. Strong? This is a hurricane!--I thought. It turned out that we had just bought our home in a wind tunnel area. Completely terrified, I invited my husband to pray together. As soon as I finished praying, he fell asleep! Asleep?! Not me; I stayed awake! When he woke in the morning, he cheerfully announced, "See! You have the gift of prayer--but I have the gift of faith!"
"And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep" (Matthew 8:24). Asleep! How is that possible? Matthew calls this storm a seismos megas; a mega shaking, like an earthquake in the lake (verse 24). The disciples run out of options, realizing that they are powerless over this particular storm. Then the fishermen turn for help to the Carpenter. They are so desperate that their cry, in Matthew's Greek language, is represented by three single words, that sound something like: "Lord! Save! Perishing!" (verse 25). Have you noticed that our most desperate and heartfelt prayers are usually just one word? "Help!" "Please!" "Really?" "Why?" "Thanks!" They came to Jesus, and their cries woke Him up. "He said to them, 'Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?' Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and it became perfectly (megale) calm." (verse 26). From mega storm to mega peace. Why were they afraid? Well...they were powerless over the mega storm. Just like us. A sudden, unexpected storm...we do everything we can but it's not working. Our boat (our family, our job, our marriage, etc) is being overrun by waves. Then we remember that Jesus is in the boat, and we can rest, as he rested in the mega storm. Do you know why? Because we are "power-less," but Jesus is "power-full.." He is our Savior, Lord, and Deliverer. He's our mega God!
My Response:___________________________________________________________
HIS POWER.
Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.--Matthew 8:26
I don't like wind; I particularly don't like storms! I woke up in the middle of the night, in our brand-new home, to an eighty-mile-an-hour wind. After frantic calls to the authorities, I was informed that these were the Santa Ana winds; a "strong episode," they said. Strong? This is a hurricane!--I thought. It turned out that we had just bought our home in a wind tunnel area. Completely terrified, I invited my husband to pray together. As soon as I finished praying, he fell asleep! Asleep?! Not me; I stayed awake! When he woke in the morning, he cheerfully announced, "See! You have the gift of prayer--but I have the gift of faith!"
"And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep" (Matthew 8:24). Asleep! How is that possible? Matthew calls this storm a seismos megas; a mega shaking, like an earthquake in the lake (verse 24). The disciples run out of options, realizing that they are powerless over this particular storm. Then the fishermen turn for help to the Carpenter. They are so desperate that their cry, in Matthew's Greek language, is represented by three single words, that sound something like: "Lord! Save! Perishing!" (verse 25). Have you noticed that our most desperate and heartfelt prayers are usually just one word? "Help!" "Please!" "Really?" "Why?" "Thanks!" They came to Jesus, and their cries woke Him up. "He said to them, 'Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?' Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and it became perfectly (megale) calm." (verse 26). From mega storm to mega peace. Why were they afraid? Well...they were powerless over the mega storm. Just like us. A sudden, unexpected storm...we do everything we can but it's not working. Our boat (our family, our job, our marriage, etc) is being overrun by waves. Then we remember that Jesus is in the boat, and we can rest, as he rested in the mega storm. Do you know why? Because we are "power-less," but Jesus is "power-full.." He is our Savior, Lord, and Deliverer. He's our mega God!
My Response:___________________________________________________________
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