Jesus Is In The Boat©

     There’s a story in the gospels of the time Jesus and His disciples got into the boat and headed out to sea.  Suddenly a storm was upon them. Jesus was resting in the middle of the boat while the disciples were panicking with the thought of their impending doom.  They imagined the worst, they feared for their lives. They woke Jesus up and said to Him, “Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” Immediately Jesus commanded the storm, speaking peace and stillness and then he turned to them to ask, “Why are you fearful?”  “Have you lost your faith in me?”

     As I was reminded of this story yesterday at church I knew the words spoken were allowing me to relate right where I was in this life. “Jesus is in the boat”.  

     The disciples didn’t see what they had right in their midst.  I often don’t see it either.

     All it takes is for my normal life to take a detour in some form or fashion.  The boat starts to get rocked as the storm revs up and suddenly I am wondering what’s going to happen next? How I will survive?  It’s easy for my focus to get altered. It’s easy to feel the doom and gloom that circumstances seem to bring. It’s all in the way I think about it, I’m discovering.  I get sucked into fear and sometimes a bit of panic.  

     The noise of the world is loud.  It blares a message at me telling me how much we are lacking.  It throws the “what if” questions at me catapulting me into thoughts of the future. It pulls and sucks me in and before I know it I’ve lost all perspective and find myself much like the disciples in that boat.  “Do you even care?”

     We’ve been in this “joblessness” place for 6 months.  It’s been a challenge to not get sucked in and discouraged as we’ve watched things pass by and heard the silence.  David and I have had our moments, his with rejection, mine with fear. I can easily fall into that place where I fear for my life.  What will happen to us if a job doesn’t ever come along? The world tells me we are getting old and it’s going to be harder and I believe and suddenly I feel the freak out stirring inside me.  

     Jesus is in the boat.  He’s right here with me, all the time.  It’s so easy to lose sight of that. It’s easy to hear the words shouting at me, telling me, things just aren’t looking good.  The world tells me what I lack. Jesus reminds me of all that I have in Him. He overcame the world a long time ago. He works all the hard things that it throws at me into good.  He’s the calm in the storm.

    I succumb to fear because I forget that Jesus is in it all.  He’s right smack dab in the middle of my life. He is the peace in the hurricane, the comfort in the day to day.  The world can shout at me pulling me into its grip. Yet there is nothing in this world that overwhelms Him.

    It hits me as I consider Jesus’ words to the disciples.  “Why are you afraid?” “Have you lost faith in me?” It’s kinda what happens to me when I start to spiral down.  I see the world and it all becomes so daunting because there are just so many demands. By its standards there is much that we lack.

     I’ve read perspectives about how tired Jesus was and that he was so tired that even a storm couldn’t wake him.  But, I think there is more to this story, at least there is to me. Jesus rested because he knew God was with him in the middle of his every day.  He didn’t panic, or fear for his future because He knew God had him. He knew God was good. He knew he was loved.

    As I considered Jesus’ question I felt something latch onto me.  The storms will come in this world and some days they will look as if they are going to take me down yet that’s not the end of the story.  He’s in the middle of it with me. He is the peace in the middle of it all. I am loved beyond my wildest imagination. He will never stop being good in the midst of the bad.

    I don’t know how long it’s going to take for a job to open up for David.  I don’t know what tomorrow holds, how the finances will go, how our health will be as we continue to age.  But I’m beginning to see that to get swept up in all those unknown variables is the panic of this world. It pulls my focus into places that I cannot figure out or know the answer to which can lead me to  panic if I don’t see him with me.

    The disciples didn’t have much of a clue of who they had in their boat.  Truth be told I’ve acted much like they did. I want to get on the other side of that.

    The One who created the heavens and the earth, whom all of this belongs to is smack dab in the middle of it all with me.  I am not alone. I am not lost. I am not forgotten. He’s here in the center, always with me.

    The words Jesus spoke to the storm He speaks to me.  “Peace, be still”. “I’m here with you.” As the noise of the storm begins to die down I am gifted with the opportunity to see He is with me, always and forever.

    There’s an old hymn that says it best.  “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” “Look full in His wonderful face.”  “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.” “In the light of His glory and grace.”

©copyrighted: 2019 Julie H Todd