Jesus does not promise to calm every storm in your life. Jesus does promise to calm you in every storm of life.

John Wesley could hardly have been called a faint-hearted stay-at-home. But there were times when even he lost his nerve. During one of Wesley's several Atlantic crossings, a frighteningly fierce storm broke out, pitching and tossing the ship about like a bathtub toy. While Wesley and others clung to their bunks and hid their heads, a community of Moravians, traveling to their new homeland, calmly gathered to hold their daily worship service and sing praises to God. Watching these Moravians, so apparently unperturbed by the howling winds and crashing waves, Wesley realized he was witnessing a truly waterproof faith. From that moment on, John Wesley prayed that God would give him the ability to likewise ride out life's storms with as much confidence.

What made those Moravians so peaceful in the face of the tempest? It was the same trait that the disciples so woefully lacked in today's gospel text: an unquenchable trust in Jesus Christ. After stretching out his arms and stilling the storm, Jesus turned to his companions and chastised them. By cowardly cringing and crying out to Jesus in fear, they had revealed the shallowness of their faith. Although they had been specially chosen as Jesus' fellow travelers on this journey, they missed the boat.