Faith is the Victory

Mat 8:24-27 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. (25) And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” (26) And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. (27) And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

“Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Why are we afraid? No doubt that was the disciples’ initial reaction to Jesus’ question. “Can’t you see? Look around! The boat is about to go down and us with it!”

They had gone and awakened him and asked him, “Save us, Lord.” But apparently their faith in Him did not extend to the ability to command the winds and the sea! They were about to witness the Creator of the universe do something they could not imagine. “Be still!” And there was immediately a great calm.

“Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” You have these storms in your life, often brought on by wicked people. For all appearances, the storm is winning and you are perishing. But if you know Christ, if you are in Him, if you have been born again by faith in Him, then the fact is that He is the Sovereign over that storm. In reality, you are not perishing. Christ is in the boat with you and all He need do is speak, and evil must obey Him.

Our problem is not so much our circumstances, it is rather, our little faith. Christ has promised us. Not a single one of us will perish. He won’t lose us. He loves and cares for us. His promises to us are sure and certain. He will provide for us. He will preserve our faith, though it be little, right up to our time of departure from this world. He has effected our justification by His own righteousness imputed to us so that the real storm of God’s wrath will pass us by.

Look at how Mark tells it:

Mar 4:35-41 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” (36) And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. (37) And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. (38) But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (39) And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (40) He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (41) And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Isn’t that the question you often ask? Does Jesus care? Here you are, sinking in evil at the hands of the wicked, and is Jesus taking a nap? Does He know? And if He does, does He care?

His answer – “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Faith, you see, faith in Christ, is how we overcome the storms that for all appearances seem ready to destroy us. His promises are true. He does care. The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. A GREAT calm. Ocean as flat as a lake. Not even a breeze. And one day He is coming again. He will speak, and the raging of sin in this wicked world is going to halt forever.

Why are you so afraid?