The Otherside
Luke 8:22-25 NKJV
[22] Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. [23] But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. [24] And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. [25] But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
I read this passage and it makes me uncomfortable, as often the Word of God does.
It shows me how selfish I am. It masks my fears. It covers my doubts and worries.
But underneath it all there is something that I had overlooked in this passage.
When I saw It made me want to ask the Lord for forgiveness.
There are many miracles that Jesus has already performed by this time.
He has healed the sick.
The blind have had their sight restored.
The lame walk.
The dead have come back to life.
And now this storm.
The Disciples were eye witness to the power of this Man from Nazareth they called Master.
This must have been a pretty bad storm. We have to remember that most of these men were experienced fishermen. They knew and understood the wind patterns. When to put up the sails. When to take them down. They would know how to navigate over the choppy waves of the water. They would know how to maneuver their ship to keep from harming their way.
There is only so much that we can control in this life.
This boat that they were in was made by human hands.
I’m sure there’s certain types of wood that need to be used.
Then it had to be sealed so no water entered. The poles for that sail mounted. The sails sewn.
Rutters and anchors, chains and ropes.
It must have been good enough if it floated and sailed on the sea.
The hands that made this boat may have been the most skilled hands around. But even the most skilled hands could never account and plan for the biggest storms that the ocean can produce.
The sailors who are the most skilled sailor with the most experience in navigation can easily be thrown overboard.
It is a very interesting thing. We have more trust in something that human hands have assembled rather than the Hands that Created!
We put our trust in what we can plant our feet on, what we can hold on to. We trust what we see.
But no man can determine exactly where the wind comes from!
The storm comes and overpowers this ship. It starts to fill with water. The men have lost control of the rudder and sail.
And they fear for their lives.
They cry out in fear for their lives!
Verse 24
And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
This one verse tells everything about their faith!
They have forgotten, overlooked or have not paid attention to the promises that the Lord has made.
It was an amazing thing for them to witness the miracles just by the touch from this Master’s hand. To see life restored, limbs healed, sight and hearing given. Even the restoration of the demon possessed!
But Jesus was about to show them something even more. Something that they have never seen!
He calms the storm with the power of His voice!
We often take this story and put ourselves right in the middle.
We put ourselves in the “storms of life”.
The thing about that is we all have “storms”.
Some are typhoons. Some hurricanes. Some are just little wakes in the water, just enough to get our attention.
This story is NOT about the storm in your life!
This story is about the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!
How even the wind and waters know the voice of its Creator!
How the recognition of His voice changes the circumstances.
But even more, their obedience to do exactly as He commands!
The Disciples had made two mistakes.
They didn’t recognize and they overlooked.
They recognize Jesus as Master, as Teacher. They failed to recognize Him as Lord! They didn’t see His Kingship. They didn’t realize that they were walking in the presence of complete perfection. They were shoulder to shoulder with the Creator of the Universe and didn’t know!
We cry to the Lord in our most desperate moments in life. We call in time fear, worry and doubt. This is exactly as we should. We cast our cares, we lay down our burdens. We rely on His strength and not our own.
Jesus carries us. He takes the load and carries that burden. He pulls back into the shelter and safety of His fold.
He wiped the tears, He makes us brave and gave us courage to continue to walk the narrow path!
But there is still more!
Let me ask you, how well do you know your God?
Be honest with yourself. How well do you know Him
Yes have the ability to cry to Him desperation, and He hears and answers.
But what if He doesn’t pull you through the storm. What If it seems like He is ignoring your requests.
What do you do then!
We want to see the big miracles happen in our life. He does that everyday with the same breath He told the wind and the waves to calm.
Many times we don’t see His hand moving.
We start to lose faith and it feels like we are perishing.
So what then?
We MUST remember the promises.
Sometimes when we cry out to the Lord He doesn’t take you out of the storm.
Jesus never promised them that the winds wouldn’t blow.
He never said that fear would never over take them.
But Jesus makes one very profound statement to them before the storm.
“Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.”
He didn’t promise safe travels. He didn’t promise an easy path.
He promised that they would get to the other side! He promised that He would be right alongside when He says “us”!
This is how our Christian journey to Eternity is.
It is hard. It can be lonely. The battle for our souls is constant. The thoughts in our hearts and minds are so intense sometimes. The sins that we commit that we don’t want to but fall to anyway are always lurking around.
It is by the power and authority of Jesus we can continue.
It is by His grace and mercy we stand.
It is by His shed Blood and and the Glory of His Resurrection that we can “cross to the other side”.
Before the storm the Disciples of Jesus panic and call Him Master, but now they see His power and authority over nature.
Now tthey shouldn’t recognize and call Him Lord!
Many of us feel like the boat is sinking. But if Jesus is on board what is it that you have to fear!
In a few short moments Jesus showed His humanity by being calm and sleeping during this storm that these men feared.
Then He showed not just His Lordship but that He is God!
Rest today and be still and allow the God of Power and Might calm what is causing you to fear.
Then as a Testimony to His Goodness you can proclaim,
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.
“Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
Proclaim and remember, He didn’t promise safe travels. He didn’t promise an easy path. He promised that He will get you to the other side!
Pastor Ed
