Today the sun happens to be glistening on peaceful waters, but it isn’t always the case. Many days the wind is blowing, the clouds are dark and the water is churning so angrily, that the idea of setting sail on it would seem like sheer insanity.
We all have times when our lives feel the same way. The storms seem unrelenting. One system doesn’t even pass by before the next one hits. The “ship” we’re on seems to be sinking fast. We feel scared and panicky as we fight against the onslaught. We cry out . . . but there seems little we can do but just hang on and hope for the best.
When I think about boats and storms, my mind sometimes wanders back 2000 years ago, to the well known Bible story of Jesus walking on the water. As I was rereading those passages in Mark 6 this morning in the NIV version, I noticed a few things that I had missed in previous readings. It was interesting to note that Jesus sent the disciples out in the boat ahead of him, while he stayed back to pray.
Later that evening, he looked out on the lake and saw them struggling against the wind as they rowed. He evidently let them struggle for a while, because the passage goes on to say that shortly before dawn he went to their rescue.
When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified because they thought it was a ghost coming toward them. Jesus, knowing their fear, spoke to them and told them not to be afraid. As he reached them and climbed into the boat, the wind immediately died down and the disciples were amazed.
I was struck by how much this story parallels so many situations in our own lives. We often get ahead of God. Sometimes it may be that, like the disciples, we were sent out alone for some Godly purpose. Other times, our self-sufficiency, rebellious hearts, or fear cause us to move out on our own. No matter how or why we get there, we quickly find ourselves in over our heads. The storms are howling all around us, and our meager efforts to save ourselves are in vain. Whether we are able to admit it or not we are afraid. But, even while we are feeling all alone in the darkness, God is still watching us. He is well aware of our plight and in his perfect timing, he comes to rescue us. We were never in real danger. He was there all along.
Often, we are just like the disciples. We don’t realize he is there. We’re so busy concentrating on the chaos around us, that we don’t even recognize that our salvation is near. Even when we see him moving, we wrongly assume it is just more evil coming our way. Until he is actually in the boat and the wind and waves have calmed, we don’t recognize that it is, indeed, our savior.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” —Deuteronomy 31:6.
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