By Mary Carothers

There are certain areas in our lives that we cannot handle alone. We recognize our need and readily look to the Lord for His strength, His help. This is as it should be. The problem comes at other times when we think we can do just fine on our own. Maybe we have learned a lot in those areas and are sure we know how to manage nicely.

So, we go “charging off to battle” filled with confidence – self-confidence. Almost before we know what is going on, we fall flat on our faces. Then we don’t understand; we are confused. Sound familiar? Don’t despair, you have plenty of company. That is part of our human nature that our loving, Heavenly Father is seeking to transform us to the nature of His Son. Jesus said that He could do only those things that He saw the Father doing (see John 5:19). If Jesus, with His holy nature, felt He needed to constantly rely on the Father, can we get by with less?

In Matthew 8:23-27, we have the story of Jesus and His disciples setting out in a boat in the Sea of Galilee. Now, some of these men were fishermen by trade. If anyone was skillful in handling a boat in all sorts of weather, they were. Let’s say that it was overcast when they got into the boat and one of the disciples expressed concern about the wisdom of setting out. Suppose Nathanael said, “What do you fellows think? How about waiting until tomorrow? It may be cleared by then.” Can’t you just hear Peter responded, “Listen, Nat, I’ve been sailing this water since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. When you sail with Ol’ Pete, here, you’re safe as a baby in its mother’s arms.” Jesus certainly didn’t seem concerned, so into the boat they piled and set out from shore. Jesus lay down and in no time was fast asleep.

The sky got darker and the wind rose until they were in the midst of a full-scale storm. Initially, the fishermen were confident of their skills, but soon they realized they needed help – and fast! They cried out to Jesus in fear and He met them at their point of need. Their abilities, their strengths, were not enough, and neither are ours.

When Paul cried out to the Lord to be delivered in a particular area of his life, in essence, God said, No, I will let you ‘weather the storm,’ but my strength will be manifested in your weakness (II Corinthians 12:8-9).

Sometimes the Lord will remove a storm from our life. Other times He asks us to trust Him in the midst of it. Either way, there is one thing that never changes. He has promised that He will never, never leave us. And our God cannot lie. Blessed and happy is that child of God who recognizes his need to depend totally upon the Lord! (Reprint from September 1996)