Cling to the Father

This past week was filled with many struggles, yet I experienced the all-sufficient grace of the Lord, through and through. If you truly know me, then you know that I can shift from one extreme to another in an instant. It only takes one thought to completely change my perspective on a situation. While I am currently working on this, I have watched God disciple me and teach me to truly trust Him, a journey that always begins when I ask for His help.

For many of you, asking for help feels like a burden, a weakness, or the scary reality that no one is coming. This is a natural desire to be in control. Consequently, God is actively leading us to release this control to Him. This is because only God can truly help us, sustain us, and give us a willing heart to trust Him.

For this reason, we will look at verses in the Bible where Jesus answers in a time of helplessness, or what we would call a storm.

Turn with me to Mathew 8:23-27. Here we see Jesus has just finished healing people when another crowd began to gather, he told his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. Just as they were crossing the Sea of Galilee to go to the other side, they were met with a storm, both physically and spiritually.

Mathew 8:23-27

23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

To the disciples, this physical storm was terrifying. It created a sense of unease and anxiousness, which led them to wake Jesus from his sleep. However, Jesus' sleeping shows us that he was not worried at all. One explanation is that, even in the storm, He was not being consumed by it. Jesus has authority over all creation, so there was no need to fear. Still, the disciples woke him and cried out, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown."

Isn't it funny how, when we experience a storm in our lives, our first instinct is often to cry out to the Lord, as if we are we're going to die. This reveals our tendency to seek God for help while simultaneously showing our fear in times of trouble. Our human minds can only see what is immediately in front of us. With little trust in God's power, we assume that God does not have a plan far greater than what we can imagine.

Nevertheless, Jesus arises, rebukes the winds and the waves, and they become completely calm. Before doing that, He asks the disciples a question that I believe He often asks us when we are caught in a storm: "Why are you afraid?" If Jesus is in the storm and has the ability to calm the storm, then why do we doubt that we will be okay? Could it be that in the storm we often cling to ourselves and not to the storm maker and calmer?

These verses illustrate our response as believers as a reflection of how little our faith and trust is in God. Take Jonah as an example; his story shares similarities with this one. Both stories involve a boat, a storm, and a person asleep amidst chaos. However, Jonah's disobedience and attempt to run away from God contrast with Jesus, who is heading toward God's will. Jesus is fully aware that God is sovereignly in control. This is why Jesus says in Matthew12:41, “Someone greater than Jonah is here.” He is here with us.

In times of trouble when we feel overwhelmed, helpless, or in need, we should cling to the Father, the one who remains constant in the midst of any storm. Jesus is with us, resting peacefully in the Lord’s power to give us protection. Therefore, we should not fear, because God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7). As we hold fast to His power and provision for our lives, we begin to realize that there is nothing to be afraid of in the storm. He is the same God who can speak to any situation and say, “Be still.” This shift in perspective allows us to look beyond the storm and focus on the omnipresent God who prevails in every circumstance.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are our Immanuel, the God who is with us. Today, we ask that you calm the storms around us and show us your power. Lord, would you give us the strength to withstand in full authority, believing that you are here with us always. Attune our hearts back to you so that we can trust you more in any circumstances. In Jesus' name, Amen.