God: You feel unsafe with me because of a core lie you were taught. You were taught it was fundamental.
Go to the book of Matthew, and read through chapter 8.
[(God highlights Matthew 8:23-27, and I read it.)]
Joshua, let me ask you a question. I want to ask you “if they hadn’t woken me up, what would have happened?”
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Joshua: Well… they didn’t have the faith to stop the storm themselves. So they would’ve died.
God: … I would’ve had no right to rebuke them [for that]. I wouldn’t rebuke them for asking for help they need.
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Joshua… I wouldn’t have rebuked them for needing me. I don’t rebuke people for asking for help they need.
You believe often when you are in a storm, and you don’t know what to do, that you will be rebuked for asking for help. That isn’t the message in this story. You have been taught “you should sleep in the storm, not ask Jesus for help”. That is not the message in the story.
The problem wasn’t that they asked me for help. They could have said “Lord, we need your help.” Instead they said “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” I rebuked the wind and the waves. I acknowledged the issue, AND I REBUKED IT. I didn’t say “the wind and the waves aren’t the problem, YOU ARE!” Yet that is how this story is treated. Galilee can have sudden storms that kill people. I rebuked the wind and the waves, because they needed rebuking!
I didn’t rebuke them for asking for help—that would be rather passive-aggressive. “Oh, your problem is your fear! Actually that’s a lie—you shouldn’t have woken me up!” I didn’t say “Why did you wake me up?” I did not say “You don’t need me”. I didn’t even say “You should sleep with me”. I addressed their faith and their fear. They should have known in asking me for help THEY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IT!
If they had faith, they wouldn’t have held back from asking me. Why would faith prevent a request? Faith EMBOLDENS IT. They were amazed at what I did. That means they didn’t expect I WOULD ACTUALLY DO IT.
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If the storm weren’t actually an issue, I wouldn’t have stopped it.
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I will never rebuke you, I will never turn you away, I will never get angry at you FOR ASKING FOR HELP. Yet you are taught that I would. Has that been your experience?
Joshua: …No. … I’ve never seen you get angry when I ask for help, even if it’s something I question or think I should be able to do without it.
God: (nods) Rebuke the lie.
Joshua: In Jesus’s name, I rebuke the lie… wait, what’s the specific lie?
God: Repeat after me: (I repeat as he says each part) “In Jesus’s name, I rebuke the lie that I cannot ask Jesus for help without rebuke”.