Craig Clouston

 The Wind and the Waves

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he … rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

Matthew 8:26

The sky was pregnant with rain. In the next instant, it pounded on the metal roof of the ground floor room of the lighthouse. He was uneasy. Watching as the waves buffeted the side of the building, he sensed this was going to be a bad storm.

The salt spray beat against the windows as the wind whipped the waves into whitecaps. Though he was on dry land in a lighthouse that had stood the test of time, he was afraid.

It was then he noticed the smallish captain of a sixty-foot fishing vessel preparing to leave port. He ventured, “Aren’t those waves too big for your ship? I mean, isn’t it too dangerous to leave just now?!”

The captain took a sip of his coffee and said in the calmest of voices, “Son, those swells aren’t much. By the time we pass the break wall, they’ll be thirty footers.” There was a gleam in his eyes that made the man wonder if he’d taken leave of his senses. “I’ve faced much rougher weather at sea; we’ll be just fine.” The perfect picture of peace with a calmness about him, the captain finished his coffee, nodded at the man, and headed for his ship.

†

Jesus was sleeping right up until the disciples, in fear for their lives, awakened him. He rebuked the winds and the waves, and then he rebuked them. “Why are you so afraid?” Can you hear them? “What? Are you crazy? Look at the situation we’re in!” Seasoned fishermen are used to rough weather. So this was one bad storm.

In an instant, the storm subsides. Awestruck, they asked, “Who is this man that even the wind and waves obey him?” They were to discover that peace is not dependant upon circumstances, but upon Whom our faith rests. Like the captain in today’s story, they knew the One who calms the storm in each of us and tells the wind and the waves, “Be still.”

Prayer

“Please still the storm in my soul, Lord. Help me weather this battle; help me trust that You will never allow me to drown under the burdens of life. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”