Do I Make Jesus Sad?

 This morning the verse in my devotional was one that I could almost feel the sadness in Jesus' words to his disciples. 

The verse was Matthew 8:26a - "But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" 

Granted, many of the disciples had grown up as fishermen, and were familiar with storm on the sea. They had probably had family friends and other fishermen that had died in storms on the same body of water; and hearing and seeing all that they had in the time they had experienced with Jesus, so far, was still quite new to them. But I would think that they had heard of God telling Joshua, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Maybe not in that specific wording, but it is possible, right?!?!

Then I was reminded of the story of the Centurion in Luke 7. The Centurion comes to Jesus because his servant was very sick. First he sent friends to ask for Jesus' help. Then he headed that way so he could ask Jesus, himself; and they met when Jesus was on His way to the Centurion's home. Jesus was willing to go to the Centurion's home; but the Centurion's response was different from so many other responses. "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, "Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this," and he does it." (Luke 7:6b-8)

The Centurion not only shows faith, knowing the Jesus had the authority to speak it and the servant would be healed; but it shows respect for Jesus' time, too. The next verses say, "When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" (Luke 7:9)

But as I read the first passage today, I started thinking about this story, and the timeline (as I know it from memory). Jesus and his disciples had traveled together for sometime now. They have been with him as he has ministered to many and healed them, and he's shared what we refer to as the Sermon on the Mount, and that's just what we have recorded. He's poured a LOT into this group. 

Jesus and his friends all climbed into the ship to cross the water, and Jesus had ministered to many people and was tired- so he laid down to rest. Having checked the weather report- they thought it would all be good, but the verse said that the storm came up suddenly. 

Have you felt like a "storm" has come up suddenly in your life, before? Maybe you are currently in that storm. Sometimes it's those sudden storms that are the hardest to weather. I know some storms you see coming, and others come totally unexpected and can occasionally knock us off kilter. 

So, how do I react to storms? I am human... I have my good days, and my not so good ones. But, I am also a new creation, and it is my desire to not leave the Jesus feeling the way I felt when I read his response in the story in Matthew. I want to respond with faith- faith that knows that He is always with me and no matter how challenging the storm is, or how strong the winds may blow. His is always GOOD. His love is always with me, and He will always help me through every storm that comes in my life.

Lord, I want to thank you with all I am for Your Faithfulness, Goodness, and Love for me. I want to thank you, Lord that with your help as the storms come, I can remember Your faithfulness in the past, knowing that You don't change, and you will continue to be faithful in my life as each storm comes that You will be with me. Thank you.