When Obedience Leads into Storms: Turn to Jesus

Aug 09, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Jesus Invites Us Into the Storm

The disciples followed Jesus’ call to cross the lake only to face raging waves. Obedience often leads not to calm waters but into storms that expose our assumptions about faith. Trusting God’s word spoken before the crisis—"Let us go across"—anchors us when circumstances scream for retreat. Faith here isn’t immunity from chaos but perseverance through it, clinging to the One who charted the course. Storms become classrooms where we learn His lordship over what threatens to sink us. [26:15]

And he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
(Luke 8:22–25, ESV)

Reflection: When has obeying Jesus’ invitation led you into unexpected turbulence? How might this storm be reshaping your understanding of His purposes?

Day 2: Gritty Prayers When God Feels Absent

The disciples’ cry—“Master, we are perishing!”—was no polished petition but a raw plea from drowning men. Faith here looks like turning toward Jesus even when He seems asleep, trusting His presence over His perceived inactivity. These prayers don’t deny the storm’s reality but anchor desperate hearts to the only One who can calm it. God welcomes our unfiltered anguish, using it to deepen reliance on His power, not our performance. [39:10]

Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
(Psalm 44:23–26, ESV)

Reflection: What unvarnished cry have you been withholding from God? How might voicing it—even angrily—deepen your trust in His care?

Day 3: Enough Faith to Turn Toward Jesus

The disciples didn’t need heroic faith—just enough to wake Jesus instead of retreating. Like AA’s “keep coming back,” spiritual survival often means showing up battered but present. Jesus celebrates not the size of our trust but its direction: a trembling hand reaching for His robe. Our “little faith” (Matthew 14:31) becomes mighty when it keeps turning to the only One who calms seas—and souls. [45:14]

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
(Mark 9:24, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you need permission to embrace “weak faith” that still turns toward Jesus? What one step forward can you take today?

Day 4: Storms Reveal Who Jesus Really Is

The stilled storm left disciples marveling—“Who is this?”—not at their own resilience but Christ’s unrivaled authority. Trials strip away shallow views of God, exposing His true power. What first seemed like abandonment (Jesus sleeping) became the stage for His supremacy. Our storms don’t diminish His lordship—they prove it, transforming theoretical belief into awe-filled encounter. [01:00:31]

But they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
(Luke 8:25, ESV)

Reflection: What false image of God has a recent storm shattered? How is He inviting you to worship Him anew?

Day 5: Pushing, Pulling, and Pedaling Together

The mountain biking story mirrors the disciples’ voyage—we ascend impossible hills only through others’ push (encouragement) and pull (wisdom). Just as the storm battered the whole boat, Christian endurance requires communal tenacity. Some seasons we’re Josiah needing a push; others we’re Harry offering a tow. The church thrives when we stop comparing faith sizes and start carrying each other’s exhaustion. [01:08:28]

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
(Galatians 6:2, ESV)

Reflection: Who needs you to “push” them this week through prayer or presence? Who could “pull” you forward when your strength wanes?

Sermon Summary

Luke’s storm scene starts with Jesus giving the word to cross the lake, and that matters. Jesus does not rescue the disciples from the storm by keeping them out of it. Jesus leads them straight into it. Obedience does not keep them from danger here. Obedience puts them in the boat where the waves rise and the water starts coming in.

The sleeping Christ presses on the painful question of what happens when God feels absent. Jesus is with them, yes, but Jesus is also asleep. The Psalms know this feeling: “Awake, Lord. Why do you sleep?” The storm does not just test whether the disciples believe God exists. The storm tests whether the disciples can remember the word spoken before the storm, when everything inside them is screaming panic.

Faith in Luke’s boat does not look like a shiny, smiley, no-anxiety life. Faith looks like not turning back to shore. Faith looks like waking Jesus up with a gritty prayer: “Master, master, we are perishing.” Fear and faith get tangled together, but the disciples still turn toward Jesus. That is not nothing. The church does not need to beat itself up for not having enough faith when the real grace may be having enough faith to keep coming back.

Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves, and the lake goes calm. The disciples were probably looking for navigation help, maybe some wisdom about how to ride the storm. Jesus gives them something far bigger. Jesus speaks like the Lord of creation, like the God whose word brought order in Genesis and calmed the sea in Jonah. The storm becomes the place where the disciples see a Jesus they did not know they needed to know.

Jesus’ question, “Where is your faith?” does not deny the storm. The question exposes the disciples and invites growth. Prayer and Scripture matter, but testing also forms faith. The storm strips away illusion and shows that confidence cannot finally rest in human strength, but in the mercy and power of God.

The unanswered question, “Who then is this?” opens the next chapter of life with God. New experiences with Jesus bring deeper questions. The call before the storm, the cry inside the storm, and the reorientation after the storm all belong to the journey. The boat is also never a solo project. Jesus gives his body to push, pull, and carry one another when the hill is too steep and the storm is too much.

Key Takeaways

1. Obedience can lead into storms Jesus’ command to cross the lake did not keep the disciples safe from trouble. The hard thing did not mean they had missed God. In this scene, obedience itself placed them in the boat where danger became real, which means difficulty cannot automatically be read as failure. [26:58]
2. Faith remembers the earlier word The storm makes the present feel like the only thing that is true. Luke’s scene calls faith to remember what Jesus said before the waves came: cross the lake. Unless God speaks a different word, panic does not get to become the guide. [33:15]
3. Turn to Jesus, not shore The disciples’ fear was not the deepest problem. The deeper question was what fear would make them do. Their prayer was not polished, but it moved in the right direction, toward the sleeping Christ instead of back to the safety of shore. [40:14]
4. Testing forms deeper knowledge The storm did not merely reveal weak disciples. The storm revealed more of Jesus. God uses testing to strip away false confidence so that faith rests more deeply in grace, mercy, and power rather than self-control. [54:46]
5. The boat is a community The call, the storm, and the revelation all happen with the disciples together. Some seasons require a push, some require a pull, and some require receiving both. Biblical life is not designed as a solo ride up an impossible hill.

## [68:28]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[19:02] - Scripture Reading: Jesus Calms the Storm
[19:57] - Returning From Sabbatical
[21:03] - Gratitude for the Wellspring Body
[22:14] - Sabbatical Travels and Mountain Stories
[25:25] - Jesus Leads Them Into the Storm
[28:02] - When God Feels Asleep
[32:33] - Faith Remembers the Word Spoken Before
[34:07] - Keep Rowing Until God Speaks Again
[39:44] - Turn to Jesus, Not Back to Shore
[45:42] - The Miracle Comes in the Storm
[48:34] - Fear Outpaces Faith for Growth
[52:58] - Prayer, Scripture, and Testing
[59:55] - Who Then Is This?
[68:10] - Storms Are Faced in Community

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 8:22-25
“One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?’” [19:02]

Psalm 44:23
“Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!” [29:20]

Jonah 1:15
“So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.” [47:13]

Genesis 1:1-3
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” [47:09]

Observation questions

In Luke 8:22-25, what does Jesus say before the storm begins, and what happens after the disciples obey that word? [26:58]
What details in the passage show that the danger in the boat was real and not imagined?
What exactly do the disciples say to Jesus when they wake him, and what does Jesus do in response? [39:01]
After the wind and waves become calm, what two reactions do the disciples have, and what question do they ask one another? [59:55]

Interpretation questions

If Jesus is the one who says, “Let us go across to the other side,” what does that suggest about the relationship between obedience and hardship? [27:12]
Jesus asks, “Where is your faith?” rather than, “Why are you afraid?” What does that suggest about the difference between fear itself and what a person does with fear? [50:28]
Psalm 44 says, “Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?” How does that prayer help make sense of seasons when Jesus is present but does not feel present? [29:12]
When Jesus rebukes the wind and waves, and the sea obeys him, why does that lead the disciples to ask, “Who then is this?” How do Genesis 1 and Jonah 1 deepen that question? [49:42]

Application questions

Has there been a season when hardship made it seem like something must have gone wrong between God and you? What might it look like to consider that obedience can sometimes lead straight into a storm? [26:58]
What is a “word before the storm” that needs to be remembered right now—something God has already made clear through Scripture, calling, or wise discernment? Where has panic been trying to become the guide instead? [34:07]
When fear rises, is the stronger instinct to turn to Jesus or to turn back to shore? What does “turning back to shore” usually look like in real life for you? [39:44]
The disciples’ prayer was not polished: “Master, Master, we are perishing.” What would a gritty, honest prayer sound like in this season instead of a cleaned-up spiritual answer? [40:47]
Where might faith and fear be tangled together right now? Instead of beating yourself up for not having perfect faith, what would it look like simply to keep coming back to Jesus? [45:42]
Has a hard season ever exposed how little confidence can finally rest in personal strength, control, or calm? What might it look like to rest more honestly in the grace, mercy, and power of God? [54:42]
This story happens in a boat full of disciples, not in isolation. In this season, is help needed more in the form of a push, a pull, or both? Who are the actual people that could help carry that weight with you? [01:08:28]

Sermon Clips

57s

#FaithInTheStorm

“``Jesus says, where is your faith? Notice though what he doesn't say in the book of Luke. He said he does not say, why are you afraid? He says, where is your faith? See, faith is not actually denying the storm. Have you seen this in Christian circles? It's like you kind of downplay all the hard stuff because you gotta be kind of like happy go lucky or whatever. Faith is not pretending the water is shallow. Pretending that drowning is not a real possibility. Faith is trusting the power and character of God even when God seems hidden, unavailable, absent. And why do we trust? Because we know that he loves us. Because we know that he is good.”

63s

#EnoughFaithToTurn

“As a as a pastor, I often encounter people who sort of beat themselves up for not having strong enough faith. Have you ever felt that? What's wrong with me that I'm not more faithful? That I just don't trust more? God, what is my problem? I've been going to church for one year, ten years, five decades. Why do I keep struggling? Often, I feel like we beat ourself up because we don't think we have enough faith. This is the thing. As a church body, this is what I want, actually. I want us to shift from being a people that beat ourself up not having enough faith to being a people who celebrate enough faith to turn to Jesus and not turn back.”

79s

#TrustTheWordBeforeStorm

“Jesus says, let's go across the lake. That's what the Lord spoke. So the role of faith or trust is to trust the word spoken before the storm derived. Hey, guys. Let's go across the lake. It's getting in the boat and going across the lake whether it is a beautiful day or a hurricane. Because in the storm, all hell breaks loose. Have you ever been in a storm? Whether it's in a lake or life. Like, you don't actually have your prefrontal cortex super well online in the middle of a storm. You are reacting. You are responding. You have all kinds of cortisol flowing through your system. You are just like moving from one thing to next, you are in survival mode. It can happen at work, it can happen in your family, it can happen on Monterey Bay. You're a little too aware of the struggle and the danger and the pain, so what happens in the storm is you actually have to remember the words spoken before the storm in order to navigate the storm.”

57s

#KeepComingBack

“There's this phrase in AA just like, keep coming back. Whether you've relapsed or you haven't, whether you've been sober ten years or ten days, coming back. I think that's a word to the church. coming back. Don't turn back to shore. Jesus has invited you on the journey. Turn to him. Keep coming back. And what's crazy, Jesus calls them into the boat. They get into a storm, and it's actually only because they turn to him and don't turn back that they actually get to see a miracle of God.”

60s

#StormsRevealFaith

“Right? It's in that moment when God calls us onto the lake and takes a snap a nap and the storm hits and the boat fills with water that we realize that the faith we have is not the faith we want to have. Right? The test kind of strips us of illusion a little bit. It's sort of easy to, like, pray to God with your latte on your couch, being like, oh God, give me the strength and wisdom to do this. It's a very different thing when you're in the storm and in the test and you're like, oh my God, I'm perishing. Help me. What it does is it sort of forces us to realize that we can't actually have a lot of confidence in ourselves and that our confidence ultimately rests in the grace and mercy and power of God.”

61s

#DependOnTheSpirit

“Now, one of the challenges with a word like this is it might sort of bring into the back of your brain some sort of like, okay, Tony. So what Tony's saying is, I just need to try harder. That's really not what I'm saying. This is not like a white knuckle approach to spirituality. Because I actually think a lot of us have sort of imbued this theological approach that it's like, if only I tried harder, it would work. But I actually think one of the things that I am learning is just how profoundly dependent we are on the spirit of God to do the will of God. So, yes, like, we need to look back to the spoken word in order to inform our choices in the present, but it is also true that in the midst of the storm, we need to turn to Jesus, who is the source of our wisdom and our strength and our power.”

70s

#FaithThroughFear

“The problem isn't that they are afraid. The question is what will they do in their fear. The problem isn't, oh, they're having some anxiety. The question is what will they do in their anxiety? It's not a pretty prayer. This is not pretty. Have you ever seen someone, you're like, oh, that person prays really good. I don't wanna follow them in like a prayer group. You know that person? Oh, most humble, whatever, you know. They like do the prayer thing. This is like gritty. Have you ever had a prayer like this? I'm perishing. Right here, like, fear, faith, they're kind of all, like, tangled together. Faith is happening through fear, not independent of it. But they believe enough to not turn back. They trust enough to turn to Jesus in the middle of the storm.”

66s

#ChooseJesusOverComfort

“So you have like, you have these waves growing, danger is real. Some of these guys are seasoned fishermen. Right? This isn't me going out on into Monterey Bay during a storm being like, oh my god, you know, whatever. This is like someone who's actually a fisherman. This isn't just Simon the tax collector freaking out because a splash got him, you know, and surprised him. This is Peter, James, and John who fish for a living. They turn to Jesus. They wake him up. We are perishing. But this is the key, they turn to Jesus, they don't turn back to shore. When we get to these moments and the storm comes, what we're tempted to do is pivot and turn back to the shore. I don't like the storm. Land was a lot better. Here I go. But the invitation is not to turn back, but to turn to Jesus.”

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