Sunday, May 27, 2012

Who is in your boat?



  Life will take us down many roads and across many waters.  Those roads will at times be rocky, and those waters turbulent.  There is nothing new about this.  There will be storms.  It is going to get unpleasant, and sometimes scary. What we have to ask ourselves is one simple question.  "Who is in the boat with me?"
  The boat, of course, is metaphorical.  The question however is the same.  Either we are on board with Jesus Christ or we aren't.  If we are, in fact, on board with our Lord and Savior we have nothing to fear.  Remembering this isn't always easy.  The twelve disciples found it difficult, even with Jesus there in plain sight.

   
 Luke 8: 22-25

  One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Lets go over to the other side of the lake.". So they got into the boat and set out.  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.
  The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, we're going to drown!"
  He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.  "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."

  They had, at this point, seen countless miracles by His hand.  They had every reason to stand firm in the knowledge that their master would save them.  Yet, despite all of this, they faltered.  Panic took them.  They cried out, "We are going to drown!" They did one thing right.  When all seemed lost, they called out to Jesus.  What they had failed to see, was that He was with them the whole time.

  I am reminded of the story of the footprints in the sand.  The individual is talking to Jesus.  The person points out that through most of his life there are two sets of footprints.  He is upset though, because there are portions of his life's path where only one set can be seen.  These are the times the man remembers being the hardest.  These are the times he thought he would never make it through.  He demands to know why.  He wants to know why he sees two sets of footprints where his life was easy, but the minute things got tough that second set seems to have disappeared.  He asks why, why wasn't Jesus there?  Why is there only one set of footprints when having the Lord there at his side would have really counted for something?   In this story, Jesus gives only one reply.  He says, "Where you see only one set of footprints, I carried you."

  This is a story (from a much debated source)told to  illustrate a point.  It is that same point that was missed by the disciples in the boat.  Do we know who we have with us?  Are we missing the gravity of WHO HE IS.  The creator of the universe is with us every step of the way.  What we must do when the world  around us slides into chaos, is take a deep breath and remember.  We have to trust in Him.  Nothing can compete with WHO HE IS.  "He commands even the winds and the water."  

  There is nothing wrong with crying out to the Lord.  There is everything right with doing exactly that.  Just remember, He already knows.  He is there with you.  Do not lose faith.  Do not fear.  Cry out to the Lord, but do not be reduced to panic and fear.  Do not forget who it is that you have in the boat.

2 comments:

  1. A very insightful post. We sometimes forget that God goes with us through the valleys. A dear Christian lady once told a group of us that when we are in the valleys, we are the most teachable.

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  2. That is so true. It is the desperation that we feel in those times that makes us ready for anything and everything that the Lord sends our way. How quickly do we, however, try to take the wheel when the trying time is over?

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