“O ye of little faith”

 

Matthew 8 is a powerful chapter in the New Testament. In this chapter, the apostles are crossing a body of water with the Savior. During the crossing, two things are happening. First, there is a great storm raging during the crossing. Second, the Savior is sleeping on the ship. The apostles begin to fear looking at the storm. Driven by their fear, they wake the Savior and ask for his help. Jesus, sensing their fear, stood and calmed the storm. Then Jesus says one of the most piercing questions in the New Testament: “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26)

Earlier today, I began to feel a lot of anxiety in my life. I was focused on work, life struggles, money, and other things. I found myself beginning to panic and immediately tried reaching for my phone. I have found my phone is something I use to cope with anxiety. Worse yet, my wife and I were driving home. I immediately put my phone down and held my wife’s hand. The anxiety began to grow and I found that I needed to speak out.

I told my wife I was feeling anxious about work. My wife passionately listened to me and we began to discuss options to address my work concerns. We came up with a game plan that I could put into play when we got home. I felt confident and empowered to make a decision to improve my work situation. After putting the plan into play, some additional thoughts came to me that I could use.

So, how does all this tie back to Matthew 8:26? When we talk about the storms in our lives, we invite the Savior into our lives by focusing on him. Once we begin talking, the storm loses power because our focus is not on the storm but on the Savior, Jesus Christ. By focusing on Jesus Christ, we become empowered to follow Christ through all the trials and storms of life!

That is why I relearned again today and I will probably learn it again in the future.

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