Daily Reading 19

"A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped." -Mark 4:37

"Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." -Mark 4:39

"Even the wind and waves obey him!" -Mark 4:41

Jesus and a bunch of the guys were on a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. A storm quickly moves in and then turns violent. We're talking "A Perfect Storm" kind of weather. The twelve guys that have been following Jesus around, end up panicked and huddling around the mast soaking wet. Then someone realizes that Jesus is not with them. Not only is he not standing with them worrying about the storm, he is actually sleeping through it. Lots of thoughts must have been going through the disciples heads when they realized that he was snoring. Were they perplexed? Mad? Shocked?
I'm sure that none of that really mattered for too long, because as soon as he got up, he stopped all of the chaos. He ended the storm! Then the disciples had to deal with a whole other level of amazement! Sure they had seen him heal the sick, eat with a crook, and talk to outsiders. But, this had to do with power over nature! He actually was in charge of the wind and waves.

All of this makes me really think about what kinds of storms people are facing. Some of the hard things in life that happen to us ARE really big storms: infertility, addiction, abuse, loss, abandonment, and LOTS of other things. I do not believe that God is sitting out in limbo CAUSING them to happen. I do believe that He feels our pain and that he wants to be with us in the middle of our struggles and as we try to heal from them.
Today's story doesn't tell me that God will always stop those storms from coming. What I got from it, is that he was there in the boat, along for the ride. Yes he is powerful and can change things if he chooses to, but I think I needed to remember that he is in the boat with me.

Are you going through a storm of some kind? If I can help, let me know. emillerk@gmail.com