In today’s passage the disciples and Jesus are in a boat; Jesus is asleep and a huge storm comes up. The disciples wake Jesus up and say, “Teacher is it nothing to you that we are perishing?”
I’ve felt like that before, haven’t you? I’ve had a time or two when the wind in my life has been blowing, the waves crashing and the water rising up around me. There have been times when I believed all was lost and I was going down. Certainly, there have been times when God seemed fast asleep or at least very, very far away. I can identify with the disciples saying to Jesus, “Do you see that we are in trouble here, don’t you care?”
I can relate but what I find very compelling is that Jesus says to the disciples, “Why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith?”
When we panic, when we believe all is lost, it has a powerful effect on our faith and our ability to trust or to even see the bigger picture. Jesus reminds us here that God is in control. Is the boat going down? Don’t panic. Just look up.
God when my boat encounters the storms of life, give me courage. Give me faith. Help me to look up. Amen.
Last spring, I was in one of my panic modes - which happens too often. I was on my way to work in north Fort Worth. My on-going health issues had been plaguing me again, my brother was seriously ill, and my son-in-law was recovering from a major illness and surgery. As I was driving along 820 on this dreary, dark morning, I was pleading with God to give strength as I just wasn't sure I was going to "make it." I made my exit to a school and looked up at a lighted church sign. In those lights were the words, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not to your own understanding." I started laughing and then crying at the profound way that God spoke to me that morning! - That has been my favorite Bible verse for many years and I have repeated it thousands of times. However, on that morning it was obvious that I had forgotten those words of trust, and God did send me a message in bright lights! That is what I need everyday, a reminder to trust and not panic even in the storms of life!
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