Monday Morning Devotion-August 5, 2024
Don't Tell Me How Rough the Sea is
"Why are you so afraid? You have so little faith," (Jesus said) Then He stood up and rebuked the wind and waves and suddenly all was calm. Matthew 8:26 (also Mark 4:35-41& Luke 8:22-25)
Welcome to Monday Morning Devotion #999. We started posting these devotions in 2005. Currently we are in the process of re-posting one of the top 10 devotions each week, as far as largest number of readers is concerned. Last week (July 29th) we posted “Prayers Never Die” which had the 10th most readers.
This week we are reposting, word for word, the 9th most read devotion: “Don’t Tell Me How Rough the Sea Is.” When first posted back in the week of May 21, 2007, it was viewed by 3,272 readers, Hope you enjoy it,
Don’t Tell Me How Rough the Sea is
Now that he has retired from the game Kevin Knox, former wide receiver, tells about the time he missed a crucial third down pass in a game Florida State was losing to Clemson in 1992. Knox, speaking to a group of boosters at a banquet in Tampa, FL said he thought he had been interfered with and even asked the official where his flag was.
When he went to the bench he hid out among the offensive lineman, but Coach Bobby Bowden, college football's all-time leader in games won, found him anyway. Bobby asked what happened and Knox told him he had been interfered with by a defensive player.
Coach Bowden looked at him and said, "Son, don't tell me how rough the sea is. Just bring in the ship." Standing on the sideline in front of thousands of people Knox thought about that. Then he went on to make some amazing catches to help spur his team on to victory. The coach's statement not only had an immediate impact it continues to effect Knox's life to this day.
We all know the seas can get pretty rough out there. Living in Florida where the threat
of hurricanes is real, we certainly understand that. But what coach Bowden was talking about
and the lesson that Jesus was teaching his disciples goes beyond the boating travails that stormy
weather presents. It concerns overcoming obstacles and not letting them beat us down even if they are unfair or
illegal. It's about having faith.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all thought the story of Jesus calming the seas was important enough to be included in their writings about His life. The versions are consistent in relating that Jesus was asleep in a boat being navigated by his disciples, several of which were veteran fishermen and certainly had been exposed to bad boating weather before.
They were on the Sea of Galilee which is actually more like a large lake. Even today it is subject to very fierce storms and may have waves as high as 20 feet . The Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long, 7 miles wide and 150 feet deep with a shoreline that is 680 feet below sea level. So, these sudden storms can come up over the nearby mountains without warning and the water can turn violent in a matter of moments. (NLT)
So, even though these fishermen were experienced seamen they were in great danger and when lowering the sails and performing the other emergency precautions had no effect on their safety, they were terrified.
When they woke Jesus up his first question was, "Where's your faith?" In other words, you have seen me handle difficult situations before, so why are you so afraid. Maybe they didn't realize that Jesus could control the forces of nature as well as doing those minor things like turning water into wine, multiplying loaves of bread and fish, and other miracles he had performed.
Expressed that way it sounds a little foolish doesn't it. But we can think about it in terms of our own lives. Do we always exhibit the faith in the Lord we should? Does having faith mean we are never going to be afraid? Here's what the Quest Study Bible has to say about that: "Jesus doesn't promise we'll never face fearful circumstances. Instead, He teaches that God is greater than whatever we are facing, and He is in control. Faith means trusting that we never face dangers alone. Knowing God is present keeps fear from paralyzing us."
There are still going to be those things that come upon us suddenly like a storm quickly descending from the mountains bordering the Sea of Galilee and putting things into turmoil. We are going to experience those moments of dread when it feels like something clubbed us right in the pit of our stomach.
When these times occur, we must do what the disciples did. Go to the Lord for help. Now, I don't know if Jesus was being a little grumpy because they woke Him up or if He was just frustrated that his disciples continued to have these moments in which they didn't display total trust in him. But here's what He did. He rebuked the winds and calmed them and the sea. To rebuke means to reprimand or to scold in a very sharp way.
Obviously, Jesus got the message across because everything settled down.
When we get over that initial scariness, even while our heart is still racing a mile a minute, the very next thing for
us to do to experience peace is to ask Jesus to calm the storm.
The NLT Bible says: "When caught in the storms of life, it is easy to think God has lost control and that we are at the mercy of the winds of fate. In reality, God is sovereign. He controls the history of the world as well as our personal destiny. Just as Jesus calmed the waves, He can calm whatever storms you may face."
Sure, there will be situations just like the one Kevin Knox faced where we feel like we have been unjustly interfered with. Somebody didn't follow the rules and they got away with it and that frustrates us and makes us angry. Knox was running the pass pattern like he was supposed to. He was ready to make the catch, then somebody didn't play fair. But, with proper focus maybe he should have caught the ball anyway.
Life is not always fair, but instead of complaining and worrying about how rough the seas are there is a better solution. Go to the One who is in control of those stormy seas and start experiencing His calming influence just as his disciples did on the stormy Sea of Galilee.
Prayer: Lord thank you for calming the storms of life when they threaten to take control of us. Help us to stay grounded in the faith so we may bring in the ship instead of complaining about the storm. Amen.