I love the stories in the Bible where Jesus reacts in a very human way with a twist of His divine nature. Recently, I was reading in Matthew 8, where Jesus calmed the wind and the waves. This was early in His ministry, but He had already done so much, and He was just exhausted. As He and the disciples set out by boat to cross the Sea of Galilee, Jesus curled up on a cushion in the stern of the boat for some much-needed rest. He must have been sleeping pretty good when the disciples woke Him up in the midst of a wild storm that had them fearing for their lives. Keep in mind, many of them had lived their lives on the sea and were accustomed to the random storms that would pop up with typical waves of seven feet, so this was an intense storm to have them so afraid.

What I love here is that Jesus asks why they are afraid and gets on to them about their lack of faith before He even gets up. I wonder if He had even opened His eyes yet! The Bible doesn't tell us what Jesus did after rebuking the winds and the sea, but I like to think He finished His nap while the disciples stood by, amazed.

A couple of things we need to take away from this is that while our fears may be legitimate, they are unnecessary. The Bible reminds us throughout its pages that God is with us, and we don't need to worry. Also, when we set down our worry, we need to fill that time with being continually amazed by God.

I want you to know that the Creator of everything loves you so very much and has since before the world was formed, and He sent His Son to live among us - God in the flesh - ultimately becoming the sacrifice that makes a way for you to spend eternity with Him. Don't let the storms of life have you living in fear.

Andy