Matthew 8:23-27
The message I receive most from these verses is that Jesus’ presence in our lives gives us peace in the storms of life. His peace is greater than any storm. No matter what terrible disaster, crisis or sorrow that happens to us, Jesus gives us His calm in the midst of that horror. When we encounter the storm it may seem that Jesus is asleep and does not notice what is happening to us, but when we reach out to ask Him for help He is right there.
In these verses Jesus calmed the storm and the disciples. He does not always calm the storm. But He brings us peace. So often we, like the disciples, lack faith that Jesus will act to calm the storm. But our passage through the storms of life is faith. Sometimes the storms are short and quickly gone, but other times they can go on for a long time, even months and years. The storms can look like many things. The storm may be a terrible tragedy. It may be unemployment, homelessness, bankruptcy, a failed business venture, a terrible bully at work. Whatever the storm we need to have faith that Jesus will act in our best interests. Often it takes all our strength to cling to Jesus our rock, to cling to the promises of the Bible that God will never allow anything to happen to us that is not for our ultimate good. That God is always with us.
There are two Psalms that beautifully describe Jesus’ steadfastness in watching over us. One is Psalm 23, which is well worth reading to remember God’s promise of peace and provision. What I love about this psalm is the description of the wonderful place of God’s peace, but first there is the journey through that dreadful, deep and sunless valley of the shadow of death. He is not describing an idyllic walk across some gentle meadow, but a walk through life in all its dangers and complexity. Yet throughout that walk, He is there with you.
The other Psalm I love to read is Psalm 121:

I lift up my eyes to the mountains
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore. (NIV)
 

When the storms of life hit, be assured that Jesus is always with you. Just reach out in faith and trust Him. He is there waiting for you to notice Him and accept His help.
 

Matthew 8:18-22
These verses are a lovely instruction on how we live the life of a follower of Jesus. Here are two men who express a willingness to follow Jesus. But are they really willing to follow Him? Are they prepared to give up everything, and then give up some more, to follow Jesus?
To the first man, a man who knew enough about the law of God to teach it to others, Jesus points out that His followers must be prepared to give up their right to a permanent home. This does not mean Jesus will demand we never own a home and live a life of a homeless person, or a nomad who moves from place to place. But He does expect us to be prepared to go where He sends us and to accept if His plan for our lives does not include owning a home or having a secure place to call home. How many of us are willing to accept that? Could you give up the security of a permanent home, or home ownership, or living in a particular locality, to following Jesus?
To the second man, one who placed great importance on following the directions of his family, Jesus called him to follow and let his family look after themselves. If what God wants in our lives is contrary to what our family wants us to do, then it is our responsibility as a follower of Jesus to obey God and disobey our family. That is a hard thing to do. It may cost us our connection to our family. Are you willing to accept that? Could you give up the connection to your family in order to follow Jesus?
 

Matthew 8:14-17
He took up our infirmities and carried out diseases. (v17 from Isaiah 53:4).
In my work as a counsellor I see many people and often their issues are very similar. One thing I have encountered a lot lately is the belief that to be strong we cannot have emotions or need help.
Our western cultures teach us that the strong person never asks for help, never gets upset by anything. But research shows the strongest, most resilient person is the one who acknowledges their emotion, allows themselves to feel it, and asks for help when they need it.
God created us, man and woman, for relationship. An essential part of relationship is connection. If we are isolated people who never need anything from anyone else how can we have relationships? The truth is we can’t. In asking for help we give others the opportunity to serve us, just as being asked for help gives us the opportunity to serve others. This is how we connect to each other and by turning to God for support and help, form a relationship with God.
If you read the gospels you can see that Jesus spent a lot of time asking His heavenly Father for help. If He, who is perfect, was OK to ask for help, why is it not OK for us to ask?
Jesus died on the cross to take on our sins and He demonstrated by his actions on earth that He was also willing to take our illnesses and neediness. Why? To serve us. To teach us how to be. To encourage us to be humble. To teach us about relationships and how to serve one another. It takes great humility to ask for and accept help but Jesus requires it of you.
So step out today in faith. Embrace your human weakness. Embrace the emotions you feel, even the painful ones. Know that Jesus will give comfort. Ask for help. Firstly, ask God. Then ask others. Don’t be afraid this will make you look weak. It won’t. Instead it will allow you to embrace the beautiful journey you embarked upon when you followed your shepherd out of the sheep pen when you heard His voice calling.
That narrow path has many twists and turns. It is narrow and hard. It requires you to give up self and pride and arrogance. It demands you embrace dependence on God and humility. And when you are on that path you will never feel more alive, more free as you follow Jesus. And when you reach the end and look down you will realise that in that process you became more like Jesus.
 

There will be no blog posted on Saturday as I will be on a short break visiting my daughter. The next blog will be next Wednesday 8 July.