| This past month this is the story I read during my visits with the homebound: “One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, Jesus fell asleep. A Squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke Jesus, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’ Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging water; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement, they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’” (Luke 8.22-25) Jesus was sound asleep in the boat … so filled with confidence in his Heavenly Father’s protection that the storm did not even wake him. He certainly possessed that peace that surpasses all human understanding. And, when wakened by his distraught disciples, he immediately shared that peace with them in the most loving manner possible. Jesus loved his disciples, which means that the confidence he had in his Heavenly Father’s protection contained the assurance that not only Jesus was safe, but that his disciples were also. His focus was not upon the stormy weather. It was upon the One who was present with them in the midst of the storm. In this line we find the reality of the disciples’ problem … which often is ours. Stormy weather – whether one is talking about the Sea of Galilee or life in general – is the reality in which we live … and all too often over-focus upon. I say over-focus because there is another concurring reality – which also is true whether one is talking about being on the Sea of Galilee or the life of a 21st Century American. In the midst of all stormy weather … and all the other assorted storms that surround us … stands Jesus – the very one whom the winds and the waves … and all circumstances … obey. The disciples did not ignore the storm, they just forgot who was with them in the midst of it. They woke up the man … but the man’s name is Jesus. And that name means Savior. He stands with us in every storm … every story … every scary scenario … offering us his peace that passes all human understanding … by calming the raging within our hearts. Of course, if we focus just on the storms while missing the Savior who stands with us in them, our likely thoughts will be, “We’re going to drown.” However, rather than holding that or anything else against us, he keeps looking for ways to share his peace with us in the most loving manner possible. The stormy weather may or may not go away. But, rest assured my friends, the Savior who offers peace … and a whole lot more … will never go away. |
Stormy Weather
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