Thoughts on Luke - Day 35

                                                            Luke 8:22-25

One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
²⁴ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵ “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

      
           My wife has a tendency to over-react. She and my daughter are in New York City this weekend and before going to the airport, my daughter wanted to visit a donut shop in Queens which didn't sit well with my wife who likes to be at the airport 2 hours early. The thought of taking a Uber and then taking a different Uber with the uncertainties of this and traffic and flat tires and road repairs was pushing Karen over the breaking point. She also gasps a lot when I drive, you know, the kind of gasps like if a child would run out in the street in front of you chasing a ball - those kind of gasps, only hers are when she saw someone's reverse lights go on in a parking lot that you are driving through. It makes me slam on my brakes for fear some deadly wreck is about to ensue and then after asking her, very nicely of course since this is my blog, not to gasp because it is taking years off my life, she will do it again because she is wound very tight. Fortunately she falls asleep fairly easily in the car which I'm sure is God's way of helping our marriage.

         I picture the disciples in the boat a bit like my wife in the car although their gasps were well founded. Like a semi going 70 on an interstate and slamming on his air brakes in front of me and starting to fish-tail, these guys had legitimate reason to gasp. They were professional sea men and they knew their lives were in jeopardy. Have you ever seen the YouTube videos of people driving in a car with one person asleep and on the count of 3 they all scream like they are about to wreck? The person sleeping will wake up screaming and assuming a crash position. It's hilarious, yet mean. This is not how Jesus reacted. Why? Because for one thing He knew He wasn't going to die in a shipwreck, He was going to die on the cross for our sins. He knew that nothing could happen to Him that God didn't want to happen to Him. That relieved any anxiety He could have. Secondly, like I say to my wife, "I saw that coming". Chances are, Jesus knew this was going to happen and was using it as a faith building experience in the disciples life. Lastly, the other thing I say to Karen is "I have it all under control". Jesus didn't need to be anxious because as God, there is nothing that He can't control, even a storm.

        What is the application here for us? Stop worrying, stop being anxious. If your lives are surrendered to God then any threatening, scary situation coming our way is no big deal to Him. He knows your future and it is bright. He has seen this trial coming a long way off, maybe He even ordained it to strengthen your faith, and He will be in the boat with you during it. And lastly, this is really no big thing in God's eyes. It may look big and insurmountable to you, but to Him, He can make it stop in an instant if He says the word. And don't forget, like the disciples, He loves you and has big plans for you so the safest place to be is in the Lord's will and following Him with Him in the boat with you. Stay close, intimately connected to Jesus and stop worrying. Stay calm.

         Lord, I confess, I get anxious about things and worry a lot. Help me to relax, trust You, and look for the fruit and growth that is going to occur in the midst of this. Amen