“ And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.” — Matt 8:24
The disciples had not put out out sea of their own suggestion. Had they done so without Christ’s bidding, they would not have had the same reason to expect protection and deliverance. The lesson we learn here is this — that storms may arise even when we are in the plain line of duty. We should not be discouraged by the difficulty or trouble that comes, and conclude that we are in the wrong path.
We see, too, that Christ’s presence with his disciples does not keep the storms away. There are no promises in the Bible that Christian people shall not meet trials. Religion builds no high walls about us to break the force of the winds. Troubles come to the Christian just as surely as to the worldly man. There are the storms of temptation; these sweep down with sudden and terrific power from the cold mountains of this world. then there are storms of sickness, of disappointment and adversity, of sorrow, that make the waves and billows to roll over the soul.
On the Sea or Galilee travellers say that a boat will be gliding along smoothly over a glassy surface, unbroken by a ripple, when suddenly, without a moments’s warning, tempest will sweep down, and almost instantly the boat will be tossed in the angry waves. Thus many of life’s storms come. Temptations come when we are not looking for them. So disasters come. We are at peace in a happy home. At an hour when we think not, without warning, the darling child we love so much lies dead in our arms. The friend we trusted, and who we thought could never fail us, proves false. The hopes cherished for years wither in our hands in the night, like flowers when the frost comes. The storms of life are nearly all sudden surprises. They do not hang out danger-signals days before to warn us. The only way to be ready for them is to be always ready.– J. R. Miller
