"Stay in the Boat"
Scripture to follow:
Mark 4: 35-41
“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Mark 5:35-41
I can remember hearing this scripture as a young girl and thinking the disciples were crazy. “For heaven’s sake, Jesus is literally in the boat with you. Calm down.” At that time their reactions seemed unnecessary, dramatic, and maybe even offensive. Can we tell I hadn’t walked through significant storms of my own yet? Fast forward years later and how many times do I now find myself having the same reaction as the disciples? More than I’d like to admit. What’s worse, I have the Bible and all of its proof of who my Savior is and what he is capable of. I have decades upon decades of trusted proof from generations of believers before me to draw on, and still, I somehow feel that my storm is going to be the one that Jesus is not able to quiet.
So much of the power of who our Savior is rests in one tiny word in the first part of this passage. “Let us go over to the other side.” Us. He didn’t say “Hey, I can see it’s about to get pretty rough out there, so I’m going to go on and I’ll see you when you find a way to make it over.” He knew the storm would come, just like He can foresee the storms in our lives, and He showed his love by staying in the boat with them through it. He could have stopped the storm altogether, as I so often pray for Him to. It would certainly feel better. But how powerful that He chose to show us in this scripture, that not only is He capable of stopping our storms, He is not afraid to weather them with us. There is nothing so big that it will shake our God. He is calm and steady, knowing the outcome on the other side, just like He knew the disciples were always going to make it safely to shore.
Beloved, if it’s a boat he’s called you to be in, know He is in it with you. When storms arise, stay in the boat knowing even if it seems He is quiet, His calmness only reiterates his knowledge that the outcome is planned for. Just stay in the boat.
He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Mark 5:35-41
I can remember hearing this scripture as a young girl and thinking the disciples were crazy. “For heaven’s sake, Jesus is literally in the boat with you. Calm down.” At that time their reactions seemed unnecessary, dramatic, and maybe even offensive. Can we tell I hadn’t walked through significant storms of my own yet? Fast forward years later and how many times do I now find myself having the same reaction as the disciples? More than I’d like to admit. What’s worse, I have the Bible and all of its proof of who my Savior is and what he is capable of. I have decades upon decades of trusted proof from generations of believers before me to draw on, and still, I somehow feel that my storm is going to be the one that Jesus is not able to quiet.
So much of the power of who our Savior is rests in one tiny word in the first part of this passage. “Let us go over to the other side.” Us. He didn’t say “Hey, I can see it’s about to get pretty rough out there, so I’m going to go on and I’ll see you when you find a way to make it over.” He knew the storm would come, just like He can foresee the storms in our lives, and He showed his love by staying in the boat with them through it. He could have stopped the storm altogether, as I so often pray for Him to. It would certainly feel better. But how powerful that He chose to show us in this scripture, that not only is He capable of stopping our storms, He is not afraid to weather them with us. There is nothing so big that it will shake our God. He is calm and steady, knowing the outcome on the other side, just like He knew the disciples were always going to make it safely to shore.
Beloved, if it’s a boat he’s called you to be in, know He is in it with you. When storms arise, stay in the boat knowing even if it seems He is quiet, His calmness only reiterates his knowledge that the outcome is planned for. Just stay in the boat.
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