Daily Devotional

September 14th, 2020
by Pastor Gene Beck

Luke 8:22-25

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out.
But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him,
saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them,
“Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

Most of you know that Lynette and I live in the foothills about three miles south of
Prather on Auberry Road. Over this past week we have been under an evacuation
warning due to the Creek Fire. Living under the stress of having to be ready to leave
your home on a moments notice, causes you to stop and think about where your trust and
faith lies. Life daily gives us opportunities to either trust the Lord or our own abilities.
Often we respond to the problems in life like the disciples.

The disciples were doing the will of the Lord. They were in the boat crossing the Sea of Galilee just as he had instructed them. A storm arose that was so severe, that it threatened to sink their boat.
The disciples were afraid and in human effort tried to save themselves. When they were
exhausted they sought help from the Lord. The Lord was asleep in the boat. The
disciples woke the Lord and asked him, “Do you not care that we are perishing, ‘Save
us!’” They were asking for material, temporal deliverance from danger. They felt that
the Lord was not concerned about them and the problems they were facing. The Lord
arose and rebuked the wind and the waves. The wind immediately died down and the sea
was calm.

Practical lessons from the disciple’s experience…
 They had the Lord’s promise…“Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.”
 They had the Lord with them…He was asleep in the boat.
 They could see the example of Jesus…He was completely at peace with the
circumstances.

Their reaction was common to ours…
 The problem seemed overwhelming…the waves were high and the boat was
filling with water.
 Even though the Lord was there…they asked for His help only when they had
exhausted all their efforts.

When I face the struggles of life I can hear the Lord asking me as He asked His disciples,
“Where is your faith?” The Lord is always with me and I need to turn to Him in faith
every moment of the day. What are you facing in your life today that you need to trust
the Lord and exhibit faith? What steps can you take to deepen your faith? How can you
live out your faith in a practical way today?

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New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Posted in Daily Devotionals
Tagged with Pastor Gene Beck