July 8, 2022 - Matthew 8:23-26

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 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.” Matthew 8:23-26 NIV

Lord, we praise you that you are Almighty. We praise you that you can calm any storm that we may face. But we also praise you for the things that we learn as we go through the storm. As we go through those storms in life where we feel like we are going to drown, help us keep our eyes fixed on you. We want to hold fast to our faith and with our trust anchored in you. We praise you that you can calm our storms, but we also praise you that if you don’t choose to calm them, that you are in the boat with us. We are safe with you.

Lord, we praise you that when we cling to you in the storm, we grow in our relationship with you. We learn more about your love for us. To truly learn how to overcome fear and put our trust in you, we must face those situations where we feel we could drown in our fear. We want to see our faith in you grow, but in order for it to grow, it has to face situations that continue to stretch it. In knowing these things, help us face the storms in our lives not with fear or anger, but with grace, faith, and trust in you. Help us to press into the growth you want us to gain through it.

Lord, as much as we want to trust you through the storms, we also recognize that at times you do want to calm the sea. You want the world around us to see your glory as you do the impossible. Help us have faith needed to ask you for the impossible to change the situations around us, but the grace to accept when we need to walk through them with you.

In Jesus name, amen.