EVEN THE WINDS
AND WAVES OBEY HIM
During
our Holy Land Pilgrimage in 2018, our Lakes Church Lead Pastor Dr. Aaron D.
Burgner took us to the museum where “The Jesus Boat” is housed. We discovered that the Sea of Galilee
yielded an unexpected catch in 1986 — the hull of a fishing boat old
enough to have been on the water in the time of Jesus and his disciples. The remains of The Jesus Boat were found in
the muddy lake-bed of the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a
freshwater inland lake, during a time of severe drought. The remains were 27 feet
long, 7.5 feet wide and 4.3 feet high. This size would have enabled
it to carry up to 15 people. Extracting it safely presented a
huge challenge to excavators. Conservation of its waterlogged timbers
took 11 years. In 2000 the vessel — officially known as “The Ancient Galilee
Boat” — went on permanent display in the Yigal Allon Museum
at Ginosar, near where it was discovered.
Our
Lakes Church Lead Pastor Dr. Aaron D. Burgner shared a powerful message with us
from Matthew 8 while we were on a boat on the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus
got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a
terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was
sleeping. The disciples went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us!
We’re going to drown!” And Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You have so
little faith! Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there
was a great calm. The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked.
“Even the winds and waves obey him!”—Matthew 8:23-27
The
storm that came up that night struck terror in these veteran fishermen’s
hearts. Would they be shipwrecked? Would they perish? They panicked and
doubted whether Jesus was aware of or even cared if they drowned. Like the
disciples, we sometimes get into troubles that feel so overwhelming, storms
that rage so furiously, that we’re sure our boat is about to be swamped and
we’ll drown. It may seem to us—as it did to the disciples in these verses—that
Jesus is sleeping, that he is unconcerned and unaware of our plight, and we
cry, “Lord, save us!” When we are panicked and overwhelmed, Jesus asks us as he
did that day on the Sea of Galilee, “Why are you afraid? You have so little
faith!”
Though
the storms will come again and again, Jesus is always with us and is working
within us through these experiences to develop a faith that can withstand any
tumultuous trial, any waves of difficulty. By the time they reached the
other side, they knew something about Jesus that they didn’t know before: He’s
sovereign over all creation. There’s nothing beyond the reach of His power. Our
trials reveal that He can calm seas and hearts.
Even
when God seems silent, we need never fear if the Lord is in the boat with us
through the storm. Uncomfortable circumstances may continue, but God will
prove himself our sure refuge because he has promised he will never forsake us.
His name Emmanuel means “God with us.” Because of this truth we can continue to
call on the Lord with confidence that he will hear and respond because of his
unfailing love.
LORD,
thank you for your promised presence with me today. Although my circumstances
may seem overwhelming, I call to you with confidence because you are all
powerful and you love me. Come and help me! Save me because of your unfailing
love and help me experience you as my sure refuge. I wait expectantly to see
you move in a mighty way in my life today. Lord, we forget that
you are in the boat with us, that you rule over the wind and waves and storms
in our lives. Increase our faith so that even in the midst of great turbulence
we will not panic but will trust you to care for us. Let our spirits be able to
rest at all times because your presence is always greater than any stormy
circumstance we will face. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Look Up—meditate on
Matthew 8:23-27…pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.
Look
In—as you meditate on Matthew 8:23-27…pray to see how you might apply
it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your
discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."
Look
Out—as you meditate on Matthew 8:23-27…pray to see how you might apply
it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every
relationship, for your good, and for His glory.
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