Matthew 8:18-34

Matthew 8:18-34 (The Message)

18 When Jesus saw that a curious crowd was growing by the minute, he told his disciples to get him out of there to the other side of the lake. 19 As they left, a religion scholar asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said. 20 Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.” 21 Another follower said, “Master, excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have my father’s funeral to take care of.” 22 Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life.” 23 Then he got in the boat, his disciples with him. 24 The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat—and he was sound asleep! 25 They roused him, pleading, “Master, save us! We’re going down!” 26 Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: “Silence!” The sea became smooth as glass.

27 The men rubbed their eyes, astonished. “What’s going on here? Wind and sea come to heel at his command!” The Madmen and the Pigs 28 They landed in thecountry of the Gadarenes and were met by two madmen, victims of demons, coming out of the cemetery. The men had terrorized the region for so long that no one considered it safe to walk down that stretch of road anymore. 29 Seeing Jesus, the madmen screamed out, “What business do you have giving us a hard time? You’re the Son of God! You weren’t supposed to show up here yet!” 30 Off in the distance a herd of pigs was browsing and rooting. 31 The evil spirits begged Jesus, “If you kick us out of these men, let us live in the pigs.” 32 Jesus said, “Go ahead, but get out of here!” Crazed, the pigs stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. 33 Scared to death, the swineherds bolted. They told everyone back in town what had happened to the madmen and the pigs.

34 Those who heard about it were angry about the drowned pigs. A mob formed and demanded that Jesus get out and not come back. Who Needs a Doctor?

Devotional (by Chuck Mock)

Think of how many fierce storms we face in our lives. Some of us are facing a storm now. The storms of life wreck havoc on our marriages, our finances and even our Faith. These storms strike without warning. The water is calm, life is good. We have a tendency to overlook that small flash of lightening in the sky, but all of a sudden it hits. A heavy downpour, strong winds, deafening thunder. We can’t imagine there is anyway of escaping this.

In these hard times, we are a lot like the disciples crying, “God, don’t you even care that we are going to drown”?

Jesus replies ”Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me”? Doesn’t Jesus see these problems? Are they not large enough for him to worry about?

The real question is, do we think these problems are too big for God? He says he will never give us more than we can handle.

Psalm 121.3 says “He will not let you stumble and fall the one who watches over you will not sleep”. But wait, Jesus did sleep, he was sleeping right through thestorm. Maybe it’s not the storm that’s so important but the way we handle it is what God is concerned about.

Think about it, the shrieking of the storm did not wake Jesus, the cry of one of his disciples did.

Everyone of us is going to face hardship, but rest assured that Christ will be in that boat right alongside us. You see he didn’t promise us smooth sailing but he did promise a safe passage.

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you for being with us and guiding us through these storms when the hit our lives. Give us the strength and the courage to handle them with dignity, to use these moments to shape us and prepare us to help others when they face similar storms.

In Jesus name we pray....Amen