Greg Laurie daily devotion - Dec. 8, 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Help in the Storm

"Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."
—Psalm 121:4

The Bible talks about a literal storm that came into the lives of the disciples. It was so bad, in fact, they despaired of their lives. The disciples had been following Jesus. And they followed Him right into a storm.

Sometimes when hardships come into our lives, we may think it is because we are doing something wrong. But these disciples were in the will of God. The storm came because they obeyed the Lord, not because they disobeyed Him. So sometimes those calamities come because of our obedience, not our disobedience.

These disciples were seasoned sailors. They were guys who knew how to navigate rough seas. They knew how to use their equipment. Yet they were panicking. They were freaking out. So what was Jesus doing? Amazingly, He was sound asleep in the lower part of the boat.

Does it ever seem to you as though God is asleep, as though He is not paying attention? It can be rather disheartening when someone falls asleep when we need them. Some people can sleep through anything. People fall asleep, but God never does. Psalm 121:4 says, "Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."

In a technical sense, Jesus the man was weary from a hard day's work and was asleep. But in the broader sense, God never sleeps. He is always on watch, always on duty, always paying attention. Jesus was asleep because He rested confidently in the will of the Father. And that is what the disciples should have done too. They should have realized they were fine.

The disciples cried out to Jesus, "Lord, save us!" (Matthew 8:25). And we need to cry out to Jesus in the midst of our storms. So talk to God about it. Call out to Him.

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