"Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth." Luke 8:22.
Many of us are afraid to get in the boat, although we know Christ has commanded us to do so. We don't trust where He is leading, and we forget that He said, "Let US go." We don't find comfort in His promise that He's going with us.
Some get in the boat because Jesus is in the boat, believing because Jesus is in the boat, it will be smooth sailing, a peaceful journey.
Then it starts raining, the winds of disappointments, illnesses, and the loss of a job, a marriage threaten to sink the boat. Our old coping skills are no match for this storm. Water fills the boat, the winds ripe through our life, and for a moment, we fear we're lost.
Then we remember who told us to get in the boat, who told us to go to the other side is in the boat. We start accusing Jesus of not caring, being indifferent to our hurt, pain, and disappointments, and the threat of losing everything overwhelms us.
Then in our desperation, fear we cry out to Jesus, 'Lord, save us, or we will perish.' And the Lord's response to us seems odd, "Why are you fearful? You have so little faith."
Jesus stands up and commands satan to stop!... And he does so immediately. No questions asked. He stops! And once again, there is peace.
The Father did not stop the storm from happening to Jesus. Jesus experienced the storm. It's not the storm that threatens to destroy us; it is the lies we believe about Jesus. The lie that He shouldn't let storms come. That He should fix it, take away the illness. Pay the bills... Heal the marriage as we scream at Him, don't You care that we're drowning under disappointments, discouragement... We hurl words at Him like, don't You care if we perish. Some wouldn't dare say those words aloud, but they're buried deep in the heart.
By the way... Christ does fix it... He fixes us so that no matter the storm, we rest and trust in His faithfulness in getting us to the other side. And we will always get to the other side if we trust and rest in His faithfulness. It may take some time, but don't fear; Christ is determined to get us to arrive at His destination safe and whole, and that's good news.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, and Amen!
Comments