Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Where Is Your Faith? | The Gospels | Luke 8:16–39

Episode Date: April 7, 2026

What do you do when life feels completely out of your hands? Why do we so often react as if we’re carrying everything by ourselves? How would your response to hardship change if you remembered Jesus was in the "boat" with you? In today’s episode, Tanya shares how Luke 8:16–39 shows that Jesus’s presence is the defining reality in every storm we face. Read the Bible with us in 2026! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: Luke 8:16–39

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. This summer I had the chance, I think, maybe it was my third time, to hike the Maroon Bell's Pass between Crested Butte and Aspen. And the way it works is we hike through one day, it's like 10 or 11 miles, spend the night in Crested Butte and then hike back through the pass again the other day or the next day. Day one was beautiful and sunny. Day two looked to be okay, but we got on the trail at about 7 a.m. And the clouds were already rolling in over the top of the pass.

Now, usually when you're hiking in Colorado, the goal in the summer is to be over the pass by noon, because that's when the storms roll in. But on this particular day, the weather was looking pretty unpredictable. And the clouds were already starting around 9 a.m., which meant we were going to have a solid 4.4. hours in rain if it decided to come. So we're heading up, we're climbing, and we picked up our pace at least as much as we could hiking uphill and in altitude, which these Missouri bodies aren't really used to. And just as we made it to the top of the pass, which in that direction is four miles in, we came over the top, we kind of rounded the corner, and the wind hit us, and it started

blowing hail, rain, ice mixture, whatever, into our faces. And the lightning and the thunder started getting closer and closer together. And this all happened as our sweaty bodies from hiking up quickly were getting cold, not only from the wind and the change in temperature, but from the chill that just comes from being in the rain and above tree line. So then we really got in a hurry. Now we were on the way down. and we wanted to get to the trees before the lightning got closer.

Well, to say we didn't make it is really an understatement because we hiked in the rain and the lightning for about an hour and a half. And you're not supposed to be, of course, in lightning when you're above tree line. But what do you do? Just sit down and stop walking. That didn't make sense either. The rain was so heavy and hard that we were slipping on the rocks on our way down. and the water was forming a stream under our feet that was almost like a little river.

So we had to be really careful not to slip and fall. And we had to use our hands in the steepest parts, which just added more to it because then we were soaking wet. So that was just the actual moving part. The other problems were, of course, the lightning and the temperature. Our body temperatures dropped when we weren't going uphill and sweating anymore. And of course, the temperature was lower because of the altitude. So that's when it struck me that getting caught in a storm above tree line in the mountains is a good reminder of how little control we actually have over anything, including our own lives. Now, I didn't think my life was in danger at the time, but you never know. You're in the wilderness, right?

But I don't have the ability to know even five minutes into my own future. It can be unsettling to think how little control we have. Most of the things that shape our lives are outside of our ability to manage or predict. We were mad at ourselves that we didn't pack rain jackets, that we didn't pack extra layers. But reality is we can be mad at ourselves, but we don't know what will happen next. We don't know what the next five minutes, let alone the coming months will bring. We don't know how our circumstances will change. When people honestly face that lack of.

control, there's usually one of two things we can do. Some people experience anxiety and some people experience relief. Now, the difference between these responses often comes down to how clearly we remember who is with us. See, when we forget God, the world can feel very frightening. Everything that's unknown begins to feel like a threat and every difficulty begins to feel like something we have to have the strength to handle on our own. But when we remember God, the same circumstances look different. The challenges are still there and the uncertainty is still real, but we no longer feel like we're facing those things ourselves. These storms, proverbial storms, if you will, are always going to come. The real question is, what happens in our hearts

when they do? How prepared are our hearts for the storms that come? Are we people who forget God, or are we people who remember him? This is why Jesus asked the disciples an important question during one of their most frightening moments. He said, where is your faith? Let's read Luke chapter 8 versus 22 to 25. Here's how it goes. One day he and his disciples, that's Jesus, got into a boat, and he told them, let's cross over to the other side of the lake.

So they set out, and as they were sailing, he fell asleep. Then a fierce windstorm came down on the lake. They were being swamped and they were in danger. They came and woke him saying, master, master, we're going to die. Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves. So they ceased and there was a calm. He said to them, where is your faith? They were fearful and amazed, asking one another. Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey him. Now, even though Jesus was physically present with the disciples in the boat, they reacted to the storm as if they were facing it alone.

Their fear came from focusing entirely on the danger around them without remembering who was with them. This kind of reaction isn't unique to the disciples. It's a common experience for all of us when we find ourselves in situations that feel frightening or uncertain, overwhelming. And when we begin to believe that everything depends on us and our ability to manage circumstances,

the natural result is, is worry. The weight of responsibility becomes heavy because we assume that we are the ones who must hold everything together. But Jesus responds to the disciples' fear with a question that directs their attention somewhere else. Where is your faith? The disciples respond with another question that reveals what they are beginning to realize, who is this? See, everything in the passage is kind of turning on those questions. If Jesus is only a teacher, their fear would make sense. If he were simply another rabbi offering wisdom and guidance, there would be no reason to think that he could do anything about a violent storm. But Luke continues the story in a way that

gradually answers the disciples' question. First, Jesus demonstrates his authority over the storm itself. The wind and the waves obey him when he speaks. And when they arrive on the other side of the lake, they encounter a man who's been dominated by demons. The people in that region had tried repeatedly to restrain him, but no one had been able to help. Yet when Jesus arrives, the demons recognize his authority and submit to him. By the end of that encounter, the man who'd been tormented is sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed, and in his right mind. And then Luke continues by telling the story of a woman who'd been suffering for 12 years and is healed when she reaches out to touch Jesus. Shortly after that, Gyrus' daughter who had died is brought back to life. These events

answer the question the disciples asked in the boat. They show that Jesus has power over storms. He has power over the evil, spiritual powers in the world. He has power over sickness. He even has power over death. The point is not simply that these things happened or that Jesus is a miracle worker. The point is that these all reveal who Jesus is. So when Jesus asks the disciples, where is your faith? He's inviting them to trust in him, to trust what they are learning about him. The deeper issue in the storm wasn't just the weather conditions. It was whether disciples remembered and recognized who was with them in the boat. That same deeper question applies to us. When we face situations that are difficult,

it's easy to focus entirely on the problem. We begin to think about all the possible outcomes and all the things that could go wrong and we prepare ourselves. Before, we're going to long, our attention is fixed on the thing rather than on the presence of God. But Luke reminds us that the most important factor in any situation is the presence of Christ. The disciples believed that they were about to die in this storm, yet the one who had authority over the storm was right there with them. This situation looked completely different once they remembered. Who is this? Faith doesn't mean that we pretend that life is easy or that things aren't dangerous or uncertain. But it does mean we recognize that our lives aren't in our hands.

Ultimately, when Jesus asks, where is your faith? He's calling us to place our trust in him rather than our ability or desire to have control. For us, that question can be worth coming back to again and again. Where is your faith when you face difficult circumstances? where is your faith when you're worried about the future? Remembering who Jesus is doesn't remove all of the difficulty, but it changes how you can face it.

The disciples eventually learned that the one who traveled with them, the one who taught them, the one who fed them, the one who cared for them, was also the one who had authority over everything that threatened them. The same is true for us. Jesus who calm the storm is Jesus who is with his people now. When we remember who he is, we no longer feel like we have to face things on our own. Let's pray.

God, we thank you that you're sovereign. We thank you that you that you care for us. We thank you that when we face uncertainty, we can remember who you are and that you will help us trust you more deeply. We ask that you will help us trust you more deeply. Remind us that you calm the storm and that you are present with us as well. Amen.