So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him.”     Matthew 8:27 NKJV

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”     Matthew 14:33 NKJV

These two Scripture passages come from two different but similar situations the disciples found themselves in on the water.

Our first Scripture passage comes from Matthew 8. In Matthew 8 Jesus was in the boat with the disciples. He was sleeping and a storm arose. They became panicked and woke Jesus up. Jesus got up and rebuked the sea and suddenly it was calm. We see in this particular storm, they questioned, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

They had seen Jesus perform many miracles in their time with Him, yet they questioned who He was. They had seen Him heal the sick, yet when He calmed the sea, they were amazed.

And in our second Scripture passage, which comes from Matthew 14, the disciples were in the boat when the wind began to rage. Verse 24 tells us that the boat was over a mile from land. In John 6:19, which discusses this same event, it says there were 3-4 miles out. The boat was being battered by the fierce waves. Around 3am, they see Jesus walking toward them. They were terrified because they thought He was a ghost. But Jesus told them in verse 27, “Have courage! It is I; do not be afraid.”

So, as Matthew records in the time from the 8th chapter until the 14th chapter, they have witnessed many more miracles including Jesus raising people from the dead and driving out demons. So now, when Jesus calms the winds after He Himself had walked through them on the water, they acknowledge that He is truly the Son of God.

My first thought in this situation is to think, “Wow, these guys had been with Jesus all this time and they didn’t know who He was? It took two storms for them to finally get it. But then I realized the same could be said for me.”

I was raised in church, I have known Jesus my whole life. I have seen Him in action. I have had good mentors that have taught me about Him and taught me how to serve Him. But if I’m being honest there were times in my life when I lived as though I didn’t know Him. I lived like He was just this sweet, loving God who would allow me to disobey the Lord and get away with it. I lived as though He does not punish us when we sin.

I’d go through storms and He would calm them for me, and I would go on as if I had no clue who He was. But then I began to understand. I began to realize that He is the one true God. He has the power over life and death. He loves me and wants me to do what is right, but He will discipline me if I don’t (Hebrews 12:7).

When I realized who He truly is and I surrendered to Him, I was able to give all the storms in my life over to Him. Some He calmed right away. Some He let rage for a bit. And some He calmed only to let them rage again later.

One thing is for sure, though, I know who He is. I know that when the winds rage and the seas crash against me, He is there. I know that no matter what comes my way He works all things for my good because I love Him and I’m doing my best to do what He has called me to do.

James 1:6 says he who doubts is like a wave of the sea being driven by the wind. When we don’t acknowledge Him in our lives, we can be destroyed by the storm. But when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we can rest assured that we will come through the storm safely. He can calm the storm, if we only trust in Him.

Have a great day!