Matthew 8:26 (ICB)
“Jesus answered, ‘Why are you afraid? You don’t have enough faith.’ Then Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the sea. The wind stopped, and the sea became very calm.”
Why were the disciples afraid? What was their deepest fear? I assume their greatest fear was death. They were terrified that their boat would capsize, that they would drown in the raging sea, and perhaps even be eaten by sharks. The thought of being swallowed by the cold water, never seeing their families again, never making it home—it must have shaken them to the core. The storm was tossing their boat left and right, and they were completely helpless against it.
What are you afraid of today? Are you afraid that you won’t get the money you need? That you might not get the job? That the contract you’re waiting for won’t come through? Are you afraid that you might not have a home to live in? That this sickness might overwhelm you? Are you afraid that your little savings will soon run out and you’ll have nothing left? That you might not be able to pay rent and could end up homeless next month?
I noticed something about how Jesus handled this moment. He didn’t tell them, “Don’t worry, this boat will not capsize.” He didn’t say, “You won’t drown in your problems. You will reach home safely. You won’t die just because you can’t swim.” And I imagine that today, God isn’t necessarily telling us, “You will get the money you need, you will get the job, you will win the contract, you will have a home, you will be fine, you will get children.” No, that’s not exactly what He is saying.
Look at what Jesus actually did. He spoke to the wind and the sea—the very forces that were causing the chaos and fear. For me, this has a deeper meaning. Sometimes, the things we are worried about are not the real issues. They are just surface-level concerns. But God, in His wisdom, deals with the deeper issues.
Let’s go deeper. Say you are worried about not being able to pay rent this month. That’s a surface-level concern. But what is the deeper issue that’s causing this worry? Maybe it’s your lateness to work. Maybe it’s your habit of not completing assignments on time. Maybe it’s the times you left work earlier than you should have. The extended lunch breaks. The three days of sick leave when, in reality, you were in Naivasha with the boys.
Now, because of these habits, you fear losing your job, which means you fear not being able to pay rent. But God is not just going to miraculously provide rent. Instead, He will deal with the deeper issues—your inefficiency, your lack of accountability, your irresponsibility. And He might do this by severing your friendship with the boys—the very friends who distract you, encourage you to misuse company time, and plan Naivasha trips that keep pulling you away from responsibility. If God removes these distractions, your productivity at work will improve, your job security will be strengthened, and guess what? You will have your rent next month.
The disciples feared many things—death, drowning, separation from their loved ones—but all their fears were tied to two things: the wind and the sea. And that’s exactly what Jesus dealt with. When He calmed the storm, all their fears were silenced.
So should we pray only about our surface-level problems, or should we ask God to reveal the deeper fears and root causes that we don’t even talk about? The Holy Spirit can guide us in our prayers. He knows the depth of our fears, the hidden struggles behind them, and He can help us pray to the Father in alignment with His will.
The will of Jesus in that storm was for the wind and the sea to be calm. Imagine if one of the disciples had known how to pray in accordance with the will of God. The result would have been the same as Jesus speaking to the storm—peace.
And what does this teach us? That prayer produces results when we pray according to God’s will. The friend who was praying to meet rent this month might not have realized that God answered his prayer by removing the friendships that were leading him to irresponsibility. But because he was only focused on praying for rent, he might have felt like his prayer went unanswered—when in reality, God was addressing the real issue.
The Bible says that God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. I don’t even think I have exhausted this word today, but we can stop here. God’s Word is inexhaustible. We can go deeper and deeper, and still, we will never reach the bottom of it until Jesus returns.
But let’s learn this: to pray according to the will of God. To surrender our desires to His plan. To stop trying to force our will onto God’s, but instead, to submit our hearts to His will.
God wants you to have what you need. He wants you to be secure. He wants you to be taken care of. But will you surrender and trust Him to do it His way?
Have a blessed day. 🖤