The disciples could have laughed in the face of the storm.

After all, they had God Himself in their boat.

In Matthew 8, Jesus and His disciples got into a boat to cross over to the other side. As they sailed, a violent storm suddenly arose. The waves crashed into the boat, and the situation became so serious that experienced fishermen began to panic.

But in the middle of it all, Jesus was asleep.

The disciples rushed to wake Him up saying,
“Lord, save us! We’re going to die!”

Jesus arose, rebuked the winds and the sea, and immediately there was a great calm.

Then the disciples said to one another:
“What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him.”

That question revealed something important:
they were around Jesus, but they still did not fully know who He was.

If they truly understood the One who was in the boat with them, fear would not have been their first response to the storm.

Their fearful response exposed a gap in their revelation of Jesus.

Just like the disciples, many of us spend a lot of time around God and still do not truly know Him.

You can be familiar with church, familiar with scripture, familiar with worship songs, familiar with Christian language — and still lack a personal revelation of who God is.

Unfortunately, when things become familiar, we often stop pursuing them intentionally.

That is what happens to many believers.

Over time, Christianity can quietly become routine.
Prayer becomes habit.
Bible study becomes a daily task.
Church becomes attendance.

Without realising it, passion is replaced with familiarity.

We can see from the story above that familiarity doesn’t always result in a true revelation of God.

A lack of true revelation is often exposed when the storms of life arise.

Why?

Because a believer’s strength in the storm is their confidence in God.

But confidence in God can only come from truly knowing Him — not merely hearing about Him on Sundays.

This is why many people discover during difficult seasons that they do not trust God as deeply as they thought they did.

The disciples discovered this in the storm.

They were afraid because they did not fully understand who was with them.

Those who truly know God can stand firm even in storms.

So pause for a moment and honestly ask yourself:

Who do I know God to be?

Not:
Who have I been told He is?

Not:
Who does my pastor say He is?

But:
Who do I truly believe He is for myself?

Because the answer to that question will determine how you respond when the storms of life come your way.

Prayer:

Lord, give me more than familiarity with You.
Give me true revelation.

Help me to know You deeply — not just through what I have heard, but through genuine intimacy with You.

Let my confidence in You be rooted in revelation, so that when the storms of life arise, fear will not overcome me.

Open my eyes to who You truly are, and teach me to trust You completely.

Amen.