Jesus, Are You Asleep?

Mark 4:35-41 tells us the story of Jesus calming the storm. He had been teaching by the Sea of Galilee, which is essentially a lake. One can imagine that Jesus’ flesh was tired. Spending the day navigating the crowds, teaching and trying to explain things to people who didn’t always understand what He was saying would certainly make a body tired.

In verse 35, He tells the disciples to go to the other side of the lake, “Let us pass over unto the other side.” (If you missed the blog post on crossing over to the other side, you can read it here.) In the natural, Jesus wanted to get away from the crowds and the questions. He wanted to rest. Rest is important to our body and our spirit. If it weren’t important, God wouldn’t have instructed us to take the Sabbath every week as a day of rest. It’s in our rest that we recharge our bodies, refocus our minds, and we give the Father the opportunity to speak (or perhaps more accurately, we put ourselves in a better position to HEAR when He speaks) to us. In the spiritual, sometimes He wants us to cross over the river to a new thing – a new season – a new level – a new area of our Christian walk – that is waiting for us on the other side.

So here is the picture: here you are (and me too!), you have spent time with God and are learning from Him. You are growing spiritually and maturing. You have developed a relationship with your Savior. You have found a place (or places) where you are being fed the GOOD STUFF. You are getting stronger and flexing some spiritual muscles. You are flourishing. (The Word says in Ephesians 4:14-16 that we are to mature in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 we are told that we should not stay on the milk of the Word, like infants, but that we need to grow and mature, eventually being fed on the meat of the Word.) And the Lord tells you that He wants you to cross over. So change is coming. You are moving positions. You are leaving the place where you had gotten kind of comfortable, and you are heading to the other side. The day has gone, and it’s evening. It’s getting dark and you aren’t even sure what is ON the other side. But the Lord says, “Go,” so you are obedient. You pick up your things, fold up your camp chairs, and climb in the boat.

You are out in the middle of the lake. The wind is beginning to pick up. Something is brewing, you can feel it. You can discern it in your spirit. But it’s all good because you are in the boat with Jesus, right? The winds get stronger and start blowing some things around the boat. That’s okay, it’s a pain, but you can deal with it. You are scrambling to grab those things and secure them before they blow out into the water. The wind is whipping your clothes and your hair. Between the time of day and the storm, it’s gone from evening to pretty dark. Truth is, you are getting a little nervous. You know Jesus is with you. (After all, He is the one that started you on this journey. He is the one that was directing you to cross over to the other side.) But you can’t really see Him. You say something to Him, but you don’t hear a response, and the storm is picking up.

Pretty soon the storm is raging. With the wind and the rocking of the boat, it’s a constant struggle just to be up on your feet. You finally get to your feet again and start to scream, but as soon as you stand up a wave hits you in the face, silences the scream, and knocks you on your hind end. You are trying to stand up under the brunt of this crazy raging storm, but it’s nearly impossible. What was Jesus thinking?! Didn’t He know this storm was coming? He is the Son of God, after all. Finally, you are almost up on your feet with your last ounce of strength and you realize you are in water up to your knees! Panic sets in. This boat is going DOWN with you in it. WHERE IS JESUS?! DOESN’T HE SEE THIS? DOESN’T HE HEAR YOU SCREAMING? CAN’T HE HEAR THE THUMPS YOUR BODY MAKES AS YOU GET KNOCKED DOWN BY THE STORM?

The thunder is rolling. The lightning flashes and you SEE Him. You make your way over and you grab a hold of Him.

“JESUS, HELP!!!”
“Did you bring me all this way to let me die? Don’t you even care if I drown in all of this?!”

Does that sound familiar? Y’all, I confess, I have probably prayed that prayer, or something similar to it more than once. It seems like just about the time I feel like I have learned something – about the time I feel like I am maturing, and the Lord is LEADING me somewhere – a storm hits. I go from standing up, to being knocked down and bruised with every impact. I’m knocked around so many times that – forget standing up – I am just trying to live through it. And where is Jesus? I know He is there, or at least I think I do. I can’t hear him. I can’t see him. I’m terrified that He is sleeping – not paying attention – otherwise occupied – all the while, my boat is sinking.

And what does He do when you cry out to him? He stands up and rebukes the winds, on your behalf.

The storm stops. Mind you, it didn’t pass. It stopped. There is a big difference. So maybe during your storm, when He says, “Peace, be still.” He is speaking to the winds on the outside – or MAYBE sometimes He is speaking to the winds that are raging on the inside of you. Either way, the storm stops when you let Him speak into your life. Now, realize that the storm STILL CAME. But its effects – the results of the storm – THOSE are what changed. That storm had an assignment. It was supposed to drown you. It was supposed to take you out. But JESUS was IN THE BOAT.

He says, “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?” Or as my mother used to say when we were little, “You know better than that.” But the bottom line is that despite appearances to the contrary, your boat was never REALLY in danger to begin with. And so, you make it to the other side. You make it to where He was taking you. You make it to the place He wanted you to be. You may be a little rattled. You may be bruised and waterlogged. You may get out of the boat with your shoes squishing and your hair dripping, but you are safe. And you are ready to see what the Father has waiting on the other side.

To be honest, there will be storms in your life whether you are with Jesus or not. You get to choose your companions.  Following Christ – nobody said it was going to be easy.  But one thing is certain, it will be WORTH IT.