Up to Something: Hope in Despair预览

Day 2

“Never seen a storm that didn’t respond when You speak.”

When you first read that lyric above - what came to mind? Probably the scene where Jesus speaks to the wind & the waves saying “Peace Be Still”, right? (Mark 4:39).

I love this line of scripture because it boldly reminds us of the power of CHRIST and CHRIST alone. He can calm the storms. He can move the mountains. It all bows to Him.

But - so often we can focus on this verse so tightly that we miss what happens just a few verses before. 3 of the Gospels share Jesus calming the winds and the waves - but we chose to focus on Matthew’s story - as he was the only eye-witness to specifically write about this part.

After a long day of teaching and answering questions from the people - Jesus gets into a boat with his disciples to cross to the other side of the Sea. Again, he had been performing miracles and teaching day after day after day. Not to mention that when the crowds dispersed, he normally had lessons to pass on to his 12 disciples as well.

Do you ever feel tired after work? Sometimes I find myself tired by lunchtime, ready for a midday nap. In all of His humanity, Jesus felt the same (if not MORE tired from all He was doing and pouring out). So - he did what any one of us would do - he fell asleep on the boat. Even our Savior took time to sleep - don’t forget it!

But while He was sleeping, a storm started to brew around the disciples. The Sea of Galilee in particular is known to have incredibly aggressive storms due to its location. The wind whips across the Eastern Mountains and drops suddenly into the sea. And this would have been terrifying for the disciples, especially for those who knew the sea well and felt their inability to do anything to stop it. As the waves started sweeping over the boat, they went to wake Jesus.

We know the rest of the story. Jesus calls them “you of little faith” and rebukes the storm. But - for today, we are going to sit in the tension of Jesus sleeping.

Do you ever feel like Jesus is sleeping in the midst of your storm? Do you ever feel like He is not there at all, perhaps taking a nap in the corner while you wrestle with the pain of life around you? While the water is coming overboard and there aren’t enough buckets to get it all off and back into the sea?

I have. And honestly, it’s easy to feel incredibly frustrated with God. Yet, I listened to a sermon once (cannot remember who said it) that explained, “Jesus slept soundly in the boat because He knew He was in control. He knew what came next.”

When we feel like Jesus is sleeping while the storm around us rages on - may we take a moment to remember this truth. Our Savior knows what’s coming next. He has complete control over the winds & the waves - even if we do not see it or understand it. This means that we can walk in faith and a peace that transcends all human understanding - even in the midst of our storm.

Jesus slept because He knew the end of the story. He knew it was good. He knew it was for His glory. May we trust Him today that this is true,