Today’s verse: Matthew 8:26
But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Scripture: Matthew 8: 18-34

In today’s passage, we read the conversation of Jesus and about His authority. Let this increase our faith in Him and help us to cling to Him. 

Have a Christian maturity (verse 18-22):

We see that Jesus is hurrying up to fulfill His ministry on earth without rest. We the followers of Jesus should also keep this in our mind and be reminded of it often. Verse 20 says,

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Also in verse 22, we see Jesus denying the approval of one of his disciples to bury his father. Maybe Jesus understood his intentions. Maybe He knew his obsession with his father’s wealth. Knowing this, Jesus denied it. In a way, He is telling us not to have any desire for worldly possessions but to follow Jesus, focusing only on the cross. 

His presence gives us peace (verse 23-27):

We often say, what a joy it is to be in the presence of God. But when we are shaken by the situations around us we become little in faith. Only in this passage of the Bible, we read that Jesus was asleep. The disciples have seen Jesus perform many miracles for people. But when He rebuked the wind and the sea, they understood that even nature obeys Him. When the creator Himself is with us, no matter what storm we are facing in life, we will have peace within.

Jesus healed the demon possessed (verse 28-34):

Jesus is mentioned as Son of God in the gospel of Matthew 31 times. We see that demons could identify Jesus immediately. In verse 29 we read, that the demons did not want to leave the human. 

And suddenly they cried out saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

But what a joy it should be for the man who is restored and to the society he lives in? Other’s happiness should make us happy too. But the people who saw Jesus casting out the demons rejected Him. It is because the income they earned through the herd of swine was more important for them. And this made them reject Jesus, the miracle worker. Let the money we earn or the wealth we possess help us to grow more in Jesus. Let that not become our everything and let us not reject Him.

Remember,
The problems and trials that we face are a scale that measures our faith in God.

Heavenly Father,
Help me to not have selfish desires but follow you in faith. Amen!