Have you ever thought that God was asleep during your time of need? Perhaps you called out to God at that time, but you didn’t hear an answer. Psalm 121:14 says that “He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.” He is always there, but we must remember that He will answer our requests in His own time and in His own way.

Sometimes God uses the storms of life to teach us something or to accomplish other purposes. We might not like going through the storms of life but they can teach us things. There are things we can learn in hardship and crises that we can’t learn anywhere else.

This is why the passage from Matthew 8:23-37 might be helpful for us now. Matthew wrote his gospel for Christians in the latter half of the first century. They were battered and tempest-tossed by their circumstances. Many of them were facing hardship and ostracism and alienation from their families, friends and neighbours because of their commitment to Jesus. They were being discriminated and persecuted, sometimes to the point of death. The story of Jesus calming the storm resonated with them. It calmed their fears and gave them reason to hope that not all was lost. It gave them hope that at some point they would come through this storm.