1/11/13

"Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" Jesus responded, "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 NLT)

I grew up on the water. When I was very young we lived on a small lake, and we spent lots of time swimming and fishing in it. When I got older, we moved to another area, very near to Lake Michigan. Again, we spent a lot of time on the water. I never feared the water. One day in late April, we were out on Lake Michigan, fishing for trout. It was very cold out, and the waves were a decent size, but nothing out 14 foot boat couldn't handle. We had fished for hours, when the wind changed. All of a sudden, we started to catch fish. But with the change in the wind, came large, probably 8-10 foot waves. So we decided to go in. To go back to the boat launch, we had to navigate next to a beak-wall and into a river, where the launch was. But on our way back in, the break-wall was no where to be seen. Without notice, and with 8 foot waves slamming us, the boat ran aground on the break-wall. I felt so terrified. I knew that if we capsized, even though we were only about 50 feet from shore, we would never make it there alive, swimming in the friged, 32 degree water. Then, after struggling for a couple seconds, we got free. It is the only time I remember being afraid of the water.
What I should have done in that situation is turn to my Savior for his help. I wish I could say I did that. The disciples did, and Jesus calmed the water, and made the wind die down. Now, we can take this lesson either in a literal form, like I saw that night on Lake Michigan, or we can also look at the storms in our lives; pressure at work, struggle in relationships, unemployment, persecution. It all comes down to the same thing. When we are overburdened, we all need to do the same thing. We need to do what the disciples did. Turn to Jesus for the answers. Turn to the living water in times of trouble. In our struggles, we need to ask our prayer-answering God to intercede for us. James puts it well: "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:13-16 NIV84)

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