On Board Your Ship

The storm arose suddenly. Waves tossed the small ship, wind battered it, and each second, the men on board feared they would be dumped into the angry sea. However, one among them was not concerned. He slept peacefully while lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and the sea roared. Of course, his friends woke Him. They asked how he could sleep when they were all about to drown. Didn’t he care? So, He did an amazing thing. He spoke to the storm. “Peace, be still,” He said. Incredulous, his friends looked at each other, wondering about what had happened because when Jesus commanded the storm, it obeyed. The winds stopped, the sea grew calm.

Jesus asked his friends why they had been so afraid and why they had no faith. Now, I wondered why Jesus asked this. Being afraid of such a furious tempest is the normal thing for us humans. Could it be that He was reminding them that as long as He was on board, they had no reason to fear?

Two thousand or so years after the Lord Jesus calmed the Sea of Galilee, storms are still arising, both actual storms, earthquakes, wars, and also emotional storms of distress from many sources. Often, I have to remind myself that I have no reason to fear as long as Jesus is with me. And, since He is with me all the time, fear should not be a part of my mindset. However, I’m like those on board the boat with Jesus. When the storms roar and pound around me, I find myself asking Him the same question, Don’t You care, Lord? How can you be so silent at a time like this? And, He calms the storm in my heart and reminds me that He is on board and I should not fear.