“His pleasures is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
– Psalm 147:10-11
[Reposted from https://adriana2468.wordpress.com/2026/09/16/when-it-is-not-about-the-storm/]
Talking to my son this morning about what we are going through in life, this topic came up and made me want to dive into it…
Every time I think of the story of Jesus sleeping in the boat while His disciples were enduring the storm outside (Matthew 8:23–27), I have many aspects that I have already contemplated, such as:
For the disciples’ perspective on the situation:
They were following Jesus’ instructions to navigate those waters.
Fishermen are used to facing storms, so if they were scared, the storm must have been really bad.
They were also tired after being with the multitude.
They probably thought the journey would be safe because Jesus was in the boat. So why is this happening?
Trying to think what would be Jesus’ perspective (Not even close to His thoughts, I know):
“I will sleep while I trust the disciples take care of the boat.”
“They followed Me after leaving everything behind.”
“They have followed Me and know who I am.”
Continuing our conversation, my son said something that blew my mind! (I will paraphrase it, since it is hard for me to remember it word for word):
“I believe that the reason Jesus said the disciples lacked faith has nothing to do with the fact that He could calm the storm… I believe it is deeper than that. It has to do with Jesus being in the midst of the storm and not with the outcome. Calming it or not—will they trust Him?”
I was speechless, recognizing that this is the worldview I walk in so many times.
I want to walk with my Lord, who will always calm the storms of my life, who will make me walk over the waters. But what happens when He doesn’t?
Is He less God?
I was reminded that just before this event of the storm (Matthew 8:18–22), there was an incident where a teacher of the law said to Jesus, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go,” and Jesus replied, “…but the Son of Man has no place to rest His head.”
And how incredible is it that, in the very next moment, the disciples would be tested on that very same thing.
Will you follow Me when it is not comfortable? Will you still believe?
I was also reminded of the story of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:2–6), which has always intrigued me.
When Jesus gave an answer to John the Baptist while he was imprisoned, He said, “…and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by Me.”
It never made sense to me. Why would Jesus respond this way to someone who was about to die because he lived according to the values and preached the message that was supported by Jesus Himself?
It only came to me that Jesus was saying that even when He acts in a way we do not understand, it doesn’t mean He is less than what He said He is, or that He doesn’t care.
He wants us to know, deeply know, how much He cares for us and loves us in spite of the circumstances.
It is almost the choice to look at Him and know that He is enough, even when everything is crumbling around us, and choose to be content and still.
His being there is enough to provide for what I need, even if it is just the assurance of eternity with Him once we face death in this reality.
I know it sounds harsh, but at the end of this realization, I find Freedom.
Freedom from having to control my circumstances when they come crashing down on me or the need to understand my outcomes to be ok, I can just rest in God.
It is enough being able to lay beside Jesus or walking by Him until He tells me what is next, or what this storm is for.
It is enough to just do my part, even if I don’t see what for, any change or when it is scary.
Trusting that He will give me whatever I need for the place I am right now.
No matter what it is.
The reality is that what we need is not comfort from answered prayers; it is the comfort of knowing who is with us in the midst of it.
Another story that also spoke to me was Jesus’ temptation (Matthew 4:1–11), when the Holy Spirit took Him to be tested by the devil.
Jesus was asked to fast for 40 days, so He was HUNGRY.
The first temptation was about turning the rocks into bread.
How surprising that the devil’s first attempt was to relieve Jesus of His discomfort, and let me tell you, it was real!
But if you look carefully, it is deeper than that…
What the devil said was, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
The devil’s intention was actually to pierce Jesus’ identity by associating His place of importance with receiving what He needed.
Jesus had just heard from the Father: “You are My beloved SON, in whom I am pleased.”
The devil is defying the very core of Jesus’ understanding of this statement.
And this is what he does to us.
When we care about results and relief more than the deep understanding of being loved by God in spite of the circumstances, we can’t handle reality.
We will always be frustrated or fooled by relief.
We usually put our identity on receiving what we want or even what we think we need. That may be true for a baby considering its limitations, but as we grow we can’t stay there. We need to grow up.
What we learn from Jesus’ response is that what we REALLY NEED is to understand that what God tells us we are is more important than having what we need.
TO BE is more important than TO RECEIVE.
The interesting thing is that we feel that if we think that way, God will make us starve and that we have to be okay with that.
We forget that He is a Good Father as well.
I believe that Jesus didn’t respond in a way that would relieve His physical hunger because He knew who He was, whether He turned the stones into bread or not. He understood that God’s intention was to solidify His understanding of who He was: THE SON OF GOD, rather than seeking to be comforted in that moment.
So much so that, right after the temptations, God sent His angels to serve Jesus.
So it was never about receiving what Jesus needed; it was about instilling deeply in His being WHO HE WAS.
Whether temptations or trials, both are used to reveal our hearts.
The devil wants us to meet our needs with his strategies, turning needs into desires, and losing ourselves slowly along the way to the pleasures or frustrations of this world.
While God can use these very same things to solidify our identity, to make us know deeply who we are and who HE IS TO US.
The fallen part of humankind is to be inclined to put our identity on transaction.
We feel we can only be loved if we have things in exchange.
What God wants us to know deeply is that we were and are already loved, no matter what, and that is enough.
No matter what we have, no matter what we face.
He will be with us.
HE LOVES US COMPLETELY.
Even when things are hard, He can turn everything for good, because this is WHO HE IS.
The good is not necessarily the result of what we ask, but His presence with us, which guarantees that the end will be good and worthwhile with Him.
May you find your place in BEING GOD’S SON/DAUGHTER, with the HEAVENLY FATHER being enough.
This does not mean you can’t take your sorrows and fears to God. It means you do so from a place of standing in WHO GOD IS AND WHO YOU ARE IN HIM, and not on the result of your expectations.
You expect in God’s Nature and not in the result of your request.