Maintaining Faith In the Storms

Jesus has a funny way of teaching sometimes. The Book of Mark shares one of those moments where faith is tested as waters were getting rough on the Sea of Galilee.
 Mark 4: 35-41
​35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
You know that TV show that has that big reveal that everyone anticipates but cannot guess? Jesus still had not openly pronounced Himself to the Disciples but maintained a quiet testing while they learned. I wonder sometimes if Jesus snoring helped cause the storm to allow this moment of testing faith in their lives.
How easy it is for us when we become so comfortable in our faith that we fear when there are storms of any type placed in our path that just as we think we are in control, the matter gets worse and we think we are going to drown. Jesus was teaching the Disciples a lesson in His sleep. They had become so dependent on Jesus that thy feared without Him they would drown. What was He teaching here?
This was at a point where He was teaching that even though we have freedom to choose, there is a dependence that needs to be taken into account. Faith in the unseen. A faith that knowing Jesus as Savior is more important than the physical dependence in the world. A faith that believing becomes seeing and not the opposite. When we have this faith and pray that God guides us and gives us discernment to do what is the right thing to quell our storms, we have a faith that goes beyond the understanding of those who do not know Him.
Once we accepted Him we are made new and our faith walk in Him is a reflection of Jesus in us. If we continue in our sin we give less meaning of His sacrifice in our lives.   Remember, when Jesus stopped the stoning of the adulteress He said, "Your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more."  
Living in this day and age we have so many opportunities to fail in our temptations, to sin without thinking, and to forget to ask forgiveness when we lose control and do not rely on God to place us back on track. God’s Grace and Mercy keeps us safe through the storms in our lives as long as we have Faith in Him and remember to Repent. Without a repentant heart and faith in the unseen, we cannot make it through this life. We cannot just say that I got God so I am good. We need to continue to walk in His ways, keep the Word on our hearts, and remember His sacrifice. God gave His Son so we can live. We must have a clean, repentant, and obedient heart so that His sacrifice will not in vain within our lives. Without it, we will not survive the storm