Luke 8:16–25

Be Still: Holy Spirit I welcome you. Come into my heart, my mind, and my body.  Fill me with the life of Jesus today. You are welcome here. Amen

Read: Luke 8:16–25

(Jesus) got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' he asked his disciples.

Encounter: I’ve just finished listening to a fascinating podcast called Adrift about a family who set out to sail around the world. They were shipwrecked and ended up floating for weeks on the Pacific Ocean surrounded by sharks. I won’t give away what happens next, but one thing for sure - they knew they were completely lost unless someone saved them. 

Everyday life can deceive us from this deep reality - false comfort and distraction can numb us from the spiritual truth that we need to know our Creator, be forgiven our sins, and live lives of worship to him. 

In our passage today, Jesus reveals himself as one with the Creator God - he has divine authority and power over creation itself in stilling the storm. Meanwhile, the disciples also experience what it is to be absolutely ‘lost’ - to physically feel the overwhelming fear of death and destruction at sea. The gift, yes gift, of knowing you are lost, is that you develop the instinct to throw everything you are onto the hope that is Jesus. You trust him with everything you’ve got as there’s no other way to survive, no other way to truly live.

Apply: How much are you trusting Jesus at the moment with the things in your life, your family, your relationships, your work, the world? Today, move the dial to 100% trust in him. However hard it is, find some time to speak a prayer out loud that you trust him 100% for each thing on your mind. 

Devote: Lord Jesus, thank you that you are with me in the storm. Thank you that I can’t still the storm but that you can. Send your Holy Spirit to help me trust fully in you.