Matthew 8:23-27

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!”

Anne Murray referenced the above bible story in her now-classic song Put Your Hand in the Hand.

Few of us have actually been on a boat with waves crashing over it; we may have to engage our imagination to connect with this story literally. But metaphorically most can likely envision a time when we felt wave after wave of troubling issues crashing over us with no seeming end in sight. Even with this type of “storm” it is helpful to have the sense that you can “put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea.”

The disciples were already following Jesus when the storm hit – and had already put their lives in Jesus’ hands – a good call to be sure. But just because you're following Jesus doesn't mean you won't end up in storms – nor that those storm-swept waves won’t continue to crash over you. We don’t automatically have strong faith merely because we follow Jesus.

Faith practiced is faith growing. Pray for a growing faith and -- if you have this as a printed copy -- do so while coloring the illustration below – and enjoy it!