The Storm-Swept Boat

Now a great violent windstorm broke out, and the waves kept dashing into the boat, so that the boat was close to being swamped.  Mark 4:37 (Reference Bible)

There was a vast difference between the way Jesus acted while He walked amongst us, and that of those around Him.  There are things He worked hard to show us, and His intention was not for us to sit back comfortably and say, those things are good for the Son, but not for common folk like ourselves.

One such occasion was this moment on the boat in the middle of the sea.  The storm rose up and began to pound the boat.  So great were the winds and the waves that swept over them that it threatened to swamp the boat.  Now a swamped boat, away from shore has little chance of remaining afloat for long and this is where people get lost in the sea.  No great effort of imagining is necessary to understand the Disciples life-threatening predicament.  They were scared for their lives and completely at the mercy of the wind and waves.

However, Jesus´ reaction was considerably different.  Not because He was Christ, the Son of God, but because He knew and understood that the physical world depends upon the greater spiritual world and that world bows to our Father in heaven.  The Disciples saw and felt the cold wind and waves and for them this was reality.  Jesus on the other hand, saw those things too, but He saw past them to the One who was behind those outward expressions.  Jesus knew that the situations we face, no matter how scary or costly, are only a fraction of what is going on behind the scenes.  We may not know what God´s intentions for permitting the wind or the cold water to sweep over our boats, but God is working to bring us safely to His shore, and God is in complete control.

Nothing can ever happen that goes beyond the capabilities of the One we serve.  God moves uninhibited towards His purposes and according to His plan.  He has given us plenty of assurance of this fact, but few dare to take Him at His word.  It seems we prefer to see our waves and the buffeting winds.

So when the seas sweep over us and when we are at the mercy of the tearing winds, we never need to lose heart.  Even if the situation is out of our control and all we can do is clutch to our rocking boat and huddle together as we are drenched again and again, we can set the eyes of our hearts on the Greater Reality.  This Greater Reality is bigger than the size of the waves that threaten our lives.  The God which stands far above and has the power to calm or save is watching our reaction to the storm which is hitting us from all sides.  He has been looking for souls throughout the centuries, who would fix their attention on Him and not the condition of their surroundings.

Dear Jesus, let us follow the example that You set.  Let us see past all those things that threaten us and would sweep us away.  Harden in our hearts and our vision, on the One who truly has our lives in His hands.  As the waves toss us and swamp us, let us remain fixed on the One who has complete control over them all.

Amen