Amos 3:1-8, 4:11-12,
Psalm 5:5-6,7,8,
Matthew 8:23-27 Full Readings
Why Are You Afraid?
Brethren, Jesus ask us today, Why are you afraid? Afraid of the storms of Life? Are you a person of little faith that Jesus will not help you during these storms even if he seems to be sleeping? Don't you know that even if Jesus seems to be sleeping, he will never let you handle challenges and storms of life more than you can endure if you are persevering with faith, trust and confidence in him? All these questions can be drawn and answered from today's Gospel which presents to us Jesus' miraculous calming down of the heavy storm when He was with his Apostles on the boat. Jesus was asleep when the storm attacked the boat, and when He was woken up, He said to the Apostles that they had little faith and then rebuked the storm. We can again ask ourselves these questions: Did Jesus know the storm and left it to attack them? Probably Yes. Then Why? He wouldn't have let the storm attack them, but it was to show that He also has been power over the forces of nature, after a series of healing miracles. Does Jesus then allow storms to come into our lives too? Is there anything we can learn from the storms of life? Probably the answer to these questions is Yes.
At least one reason for Jesus permitting storms in our lives is that they help us and give us opportunities to know Jesus better. The Apostles had witnessed Jesus healing and exorcising but this incident helped then to know more about Jesus that he also also had power over natural forces. We too when we experience storms in our lives and call unto Jesus for His help, we come to know Him better and how He is powerful to do anything in our lives. Knowing Him better makes us to love Him more deeply, for we cannot love something we don't know.
Storms act as an opportunity to nurture our faith in Jesus and enables our faith to grow each day. Notice that Jesus said “O you of little faith.” These men had faith, but it was just too little. Their faith, like ours, grows only when it is tested. Having faith in Jesus makes us pass through storms of life successfully and faithfully as the Apostles did. The more we call unto Jesus to help us and answer us, the more we should trust and have faith in Him. However, some of us only seek Jesus in times of danger and when it's over we forget Jesus, perhaps this is the reason why storms can never end in our lives. Storms should help us develop deeper faith in Jesus and that faith should be maintained throughout the whole of our lives. When we pass through these storms we should always be with a conviction that Jesus never tests us beyond our capacities. The Father knows what we need even before we ask. Jesus is always with the Father, and that reality is the key to peace in the storms of life. Do we believe that the Father will not try us beyond our strength?
Storms help us to realise and recognise the need of Jesus in our lives. The fact is that we need Jesus, for He has power over everything meaning He can be able to save us from anything that comes in our way; the only misleading situation is when we feel everything is ok, and then we think we do not need Jesus, which is wrong. We need Jesus all the time. At the time of need, the Apostles had to turn to Jesus with faith and trust that He is going to help them and indeed He helped them. It is only Jesus who can help us out in times of storms of life, He can use our friends or neighbors or classmates or religious leaders or any stranger or He Himself can come to your help, when we realise our need for Him and call on Him. The most interesting thing is that Jesus is not far from us, He is with us (Emmanuel), in the same boat with us as He was with the Apostles, not asleep but only waiting for us to just call on Him for help. He gives us a chance to realise our need for him and call on Him.
When faced with storms in life like lack of money, family problems, work problems, problems in friendship and communication and losses of every type, whom do you run to? Is it Jesus or other ways like witch craft, Illuminati, theft, murder, withdrawal, suicide and doing immoral acts. We all have heard or experienced what happens to those who choose other ways other than Jesus in solving their problems and storms of life. Most of them add more problems to themselves, and also demands of such ways are high as well as hard to meet. Jesus' help is not highly demanding, it only demands a free response to God's love and having faith and trust in Him. All will be done for you. Brethren, why then should we not choose Jesus to calm down our storms of life?
Reflect today on your storms of life? Do you run to Jesus in such times or your run to your own ways? How have you experienced Jesus calming down your storms of life? Have those storms helped you to believe more in Jesus or you only seek Jesus only in times of need and other times you forget Him? Reflect on these and more questions that come your way concerning this Gospel and ask the Holy Spirit to increase your faith in Jesus.
Let us Pray.
I thank you Lord that you are in the same boat with me in this life and I know I am never alone. Help me every day to grow deeper in faith and trust in you as the only sole helper in times of danger and in times of Joy. Amen.
Be blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment