Jesus inserts a probe into the deep places of our hearts whenever he asks searching questions. Even the most practical interrogatives cause a pause that is sharp enough to penetrate our motives, thoughts, and fears.
He asks the questions we are ultimately asking ourselves but find difficult to face.
Luke 8 records three of them:
"Where is your faith?" (v 25) - What do you really believe? How profoundly do you believe it? How does what you believe drive you, define you, and shape you? Is your faith transferable between the changing circumstances of your life? Is it immune to revision when it is challenged or stretched by hardship? Just because the boat you are in is riding the storm and death is a possibility, does not mean that any enduring and ultimate truth has changed - only your questions. His remains the same: Where is your faith?
Jesus asked this question of his friends who were suffering through storms outside of themselves.
"What is your name?" (v 30) - Is it "Legion" because you are many and are tormented by discordant and destructive voices within your soul? Do you know your name - your authentic name? Do you really know who you are - the 'you' you were meant to be, full of wonder, potential, and joyous grace? Have you come to peace with yourself as one who is beloved of God and called to a life of purpose or are you living among the tombs, flailing and beating yourself without mercy?
Jesus asked this question of a man whose storms were within him, who had not known a moment of peace for years.
"Who touched me?" (v 45) - You cannot remain anonymous to Jesus. He wants you to hear the question and know that He knows that power has gone out of Him to you whenever you reach to touch the hem of His garment. Do you think He does not notice you, that He does not care, that you cannot reach Him? A woman whose body had failed her for a long, long time was desperate enough to hope for healing. Later a group of mourners would reach out for one last tidbit of hope for a little girl who had slipped into the grip of death. To the woman, He would say, "Your faith has made you well." To the little girl, He would say, "Little girl, arise."
Who touched me? That is the question of knowing of His knowledge. It is the question that opens our eyes to the reality that in our loneliest circumstances, we are never truly alone.
Some storms attack our bodies and ours alone and isolate us. Jesus see, hears, feels, and knows.
These are the questions that are posed to us today? In some ways, they are all about the first. If we know where our faith is, we can know who we are and that we have touched Him who has the power to still the storms or see us through.