23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”REFLECTIONSWritten by Monica LyIn reading this well-known Gospel story, I still find myself puzzled by the interaction between the disciples and Jesus. At first glance, I can certainly empathise with the disciples’ fear of the storm. I also find Jesus’ response to their plea for help quite odd; rather than comfort them, he points to their lack of faith and says that they shouldn’t have been afraid in this situation.However, as I ponder further the ease and the authority with which Jesus calms the storm simply by His word, I begin to see that this can only be the same authority and power of the one God who rules over the seas. God is the one who has the power to still the waves and control the frightening chaos of the storm (Ps 65:7, 89:9; 107:29). This act points to Jesus’ divine nature: Jesus is God-become-flesh. The disciples simply didn’t understand that, so they had no idea of his true authority and sovereignty.The irony by the end of the passage is that their fear of the storm is redirected; they no longer fear the storm, instead they look at Jesus with fear and amazement (see Luke 8:25). But that is a step forward, since God is the only One we should fear with a reverent fear.My original empathy with the disciples’ reaction makes me wonder if I, like them, hold onto a similar small view of Jesus? I know that Jesus is God, but how deep is that conviction – especially when I face storms in my own life? Perhaps like the disciples I need my fear and reverence redirected towards the one who has sovereignty over all the chaos in this universe; the one who has authority to judge the living and the dead; the only one who can shield us from the ultimate storm of God’s wrath. Only then, in the calm and stillness of my own heart, will the praise, adoration and worship of “our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ” flourish (Titus 2:13).QUESTIONWhat things are you afraid of? Why can you trust Jesus with those things?ABOUT THE AUTHORMonica is a member of our Fairfield morning congregation.