Luke 8: 22 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. 23 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. 24 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. 25 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!”
The Lord's rebuke to His disciples shouts louder than His rebuke to the waves and wind!. He goes to sleep hoping like an Attending his disciples would take care of the "new cases" or impending opposition to His Word (i.e Let us cross over to the other side... )
We often seem to forget that every word ( or prophecy ) of the Lord will be challenged tooth and nail by the Enemy. There were 2 men , demon possessed and miserable on the other side. The Lord was going across just for them. But the Enemy hoped that His disciples could be made to fear through his raging tactics. The Enemy understands that FEAR NEGATES the WORD.
We end up "freaking out" the moment He "sleeps" ofcourse Ps 121 says He never slumbers nor sleeps :) . But when we desperately call on the Master, He arises from within our hearts, the blazing raging HOLY SPIRIT in us rebukes the storm and the waves. Hallelujah !
Without the Lord , we are lost. As soon as He is apparently " out of the picture" we are at a loss. This is because our identity , our wisdom, our power, our glory , our honor, our forgiveness, our very existence STEMS from HIM, our Source, our Eternal Sustainer.
As Jesus Christ advances with the Good news of the Word of the Kingdom, Opposition will surely arise, it will attempt to trample, devour, choke, via thorns, cares, pleasures, riches, the Awesome Power of the Word. We have the Word near us and it is not just for salvation on Day 1 , but for every storm we face. Amen !
Fear Neutralizes the Effective Therapeutic Work of the Word. Let us therefore proclaim the Word as we flow in the Spirit. Let us permit the Spirit of the Lord to trample fear & blaze out of us like a dragon breathing fire until the Enemy trembles and flees. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, the CHRIST IN YOU, the HOPE OF GLORY ! AMEN
The fear factor is a problem for the christian. To negate fear our faith must depend on the Word of God. We face enemies who threaten to destroy us. This is an age old tactic to keep us under wraps. Look at the stalwarts of faith all standing around us as a cloud. They encourage us but we have not put our trust in them but on the author and finisher of our faith, our Lord Jesus Christ. Heb. 12:1-2.