Who's in Your Boat?

Annie: When I was reading in the Gospel of John the other day, I noticed something I had never noticed before when Jesus walks on water in Chapter 6:

16 That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. 18 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” 21 Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!

"...and immediately they arrived at their destination!"

WOW. So, the disciples were rowing hard - in the dark - in a storm and basically getting nowhere until Jesus climbed into the boat. It doesn't say that he brought light to the darkness or even calmed this particular storm, but it does say they immediately got to where they were trying to go because He was with them. 

Russell: As Christians, we can try to put everything on ourselves or we try to do things in our own power and get nowhere. We just end up tired and frustrated. We just need to let him into our boat. 

I was studying how Jesus calmed the storm in the Book of Mark, and I noticed something profound, especially during this season. 

Mark 4:35-41(NLT)

35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!”Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

 This is so profound to me, because even though Jesus asks, "Why are you afraid?" he wasn't saying you should not be afraid of the storm, but he was calling out the disciples because their faith was misplaced. Their faith was in the storm, and they forgot who was with them. We may face many REAL storms in life-storms of anxiety, storms of financial stress, and storms of depression. But, we must never lose faith in Jesus- who is with us during our storms.

Annie: What stands out to me here is that Jesus knew they would be ok or he wouldn't have been sleeping. But, it teaches us that when the storms of life are raging, we still need to call to Him and He will rescue us every single time. It may not always be the way we "think" it should be, but He is able to calm the storm inside each of us and He will use the storm to teach us to have faith and trust in Him alone.

Russell: So, have you asked Jesus into your boat? If Jesus is already in your boat, have you asked him to calm the storms in your life recently? Is your faith in your faith? Or is it in Jesus? Here is where you can start:

God I need you

I can't do this alone

Even though I don't understand why I'm in this storm

I'm trusting you

Please come into my life and calm the storms in me

Because only you can

In Jesus name I pray 

Amen