Reflect today on how you react to the difficulties and problems of your life

They came and woke Jesus, saying: "Lord, save us! We are dying! "He said to them," Why are you terrified, or you of little faith? " Then he got up, scolded the winds and the sea and the calm was great. Matthew 8: 25-26

Imagine being at sea with the Apostles. You have been a fisherman and have spent countless hours at sea for a lifetime. Some days the sea was exceptionally calm and on other days there were big waves. But this day was unique. These waves were huge and crashing and you feared that things would not end well. So, with the others on the boat, you woke up Jesus in panic hoping that he would save you.

What would have been the best thing for the apostles in this situation? Most likely, it would have been for them to allow Jesus to sleep. Ideally, they would face the ferocious storm with confidence and hope. The "storms" that seem overwhelming can be rare, but we can be sure that they will come. They will come and we will feel overwhelmed.

If the Apostles had not panicked and would have allowed Jesus to sleep, they would have had to endure the storm a little more. But in the end he would die and everything would be calm.

Jesus, in his great compassion, agrees with us that we cry out to him in our need as the Apostles did on the boat. He agrees with us that we turn to him in our fear and seek his help. When we do this, it will be there as a parent is there for a child who wakes up in fear at night. But ideally we will have to face the storm with confidence and hope. Ideally we will know that this too will pass and that we should simply trust and remain strong. This seems to be the most ideal lesson we can learn from this story.

Reflect today on how you react to the difficulties and problems of your life. Whether they are big or small, do you face them with the security, calm and hope that Jesus wants you to have? Life is too short to be filled with terror. Trust the Lord, whatever you do every day. If he appears to be asleep, allow him to remain asleep. He knows what he's doing and you can be sure he'll never let you endure more than you can handle.

Lord, whatever may happen, I trust you. I know you're always there and you'll never give me more than I can handle. Jesus, I trust you.