Held in the Storm
Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash
Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.
The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?”
The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”
-- Luke 8:22b-25 (NLT)
As far as I could see, the water was flat and cool. A mist gently floated above the surface, and a silence rested on my soul as I breathed in the crisp morning air.
The Sea of Galilee and our hosts welcomed the class of rambunctious teenagers and their chaperones on board and set sail. The day was so calm, it was hard to imagine a raging storm or waves beating the side of the boat where, currently, water barely lapped at the hull below us. The “Jesus Boat,” a replica of the boat Jesus may have spent time on that very body of water, was taking us into deeper waters, far from shore.
It was as if I could see Jesus walking toward me through that mist. I longed to reach out and take His hand. I closed my eyes, picturing a storm brewing and chaos building around me, peace remaining.
Every day, storms are brewing somewhere in the heavens above us. Some we can see and feel. Some stay out over the ocean. Here in San Diego, they may cause high tides or coastal flooding, but rarely do we see much more than nine inches of rain in any given “rainy” season.
As I write this article, it is early October and 100 degrees outside, yet the authorities have declared a state of emergency for the potential storms that may come with the “El Niño” rain pattern in the next several months. People are preparing. Some are panicking.
I am doing some tree trimming, and I cleaned out the drains in my sidewalk and the gully behind my yard. I may put some new weather stripping around my back door and gather some sandbags. I don’t want to be unprepared. But neither can I allow the potential of a storm to wreck me. In fact, I cannot even let the raging storm itself steal my peace.
We don’t have many season changes where I live, and I am okay with that. I like the sunshine. So, when we have weather to speak of, people get worked up about it. I get it.
In the same way, in our own lives, proverbial storms are brewing just off the coast of our safely curated vessels, just waiting to make landfall or churn up the calm of the sea.
Recently, a friend asked me, “Where are you with Jesus today?”
“I’m good,” I replied. “I’ve been having really good quiet time…”
She held up her hand. “I want you to describe a picture of where you and Jesus are right now.”
I closed my eyes as they started leaking and took a long deep breath, a clear picture forming in my mind. This is what I saw.
Lightning strikes. Thunder rattles the boat. Waves are crashing. The boat is rocking violently. A massive waterspout circles all around me, but I lay on Jesus’s pillow in the hull of the ship. He strokes my hair as a father would comforting a child in need of rest. I stretch my arm out to the hand reaching for me through the storm. He gently draws my hand back to His and holds me. “Be still,” He says, and I surrender to the peace that flows through His gentle touch into the depth of my soul.
The past several years have been full of storms for me. However, I have been given the gift of a season of rest. It is tempting for me to reach out and get pulled back into the storm, but He has called me to be still and rest in the shelter of His wings. (Psalm 91:1)
This problem is not new to our generation. Isaiah addresses it several times, but this one hit me like a crashing wave a few years ago.
This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
But you would have none of it. (Isaiah 30:15, NLT)
He invites us into His presence. We know that is where we will find peace, refuge, and rest. Yet, far too often, we refuse to pull our hands in from the raging storm.
But you are a tower of refuge to the poor,
O Lord, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. (Isaiah 25:4-5, NLT)
We sing about His peace while storms rage around us, but do we believe the words we are singing? Not as often as we should.
You may be in a season of peace. Praise Jesus for those times. You may be in the midst of a storm and feel like the needy in distress. Praise Jesus in those times. We need to be ready for both.
If you are a child of God, know that there will be storms, and there will be smooth sailing. No matter the season, He will hold us like a mother holds her child (Psalm 131) and cover us over with His wings. (Psalm 91, 94)
How precious is Your unfailing love, O God!
All Humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your Wings. (Psalm 36:7, NLT)
So as the precious hymn says; “‘Til the storm passes over, ‘til the thunder sounds no more… hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of thy hand, keep me safe ‘til the storm passes by.”
Questions for Reflection:
1. Where are you with Jesus today?
2. Can you picture yourself at peace with Him wherever you may be?
3. What part of your storm do you need to surrender to Jesus today?
4. Will you focus your eyes on Him, His comfort and safety amid the storms, rather than on the storm itself?
