Rough Seas

As we look at the text today we find Jesus Preaching on the waterfront using a boat as his pulpit due to the massive amount of people who have come to hear him and maybe get a healing touch from Him.

After he is done it says they headed to the other side with Jesus just as he was and other boats were with them.

We need to realize something when we decide to follow Jesus we know what is in store for us. He didn’t sugar coat anything, Jesus doesn’t try to sucker us in by promising a big rebate or no interest financing. When we follow Jesus we follow Him just as He is and just as we are. And let me be clear we travel through some storms. Those other boats that were with Him that day got tossed about by the wind and took on water just like the boat that Jesus was in. When we Take up our cross and follow Jesus we are not promised that life will always be easy. Jesus told his disciples that they would be hated and persecuted. Jesus said blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Following Jesus isn’t always going to be easy we are told that we will be persecuted, insulted, and lied on because of Him. And yes the storms will come

As they were crossing a storm arose and started filling their boat with water. Now I don’t rightly know exactly what the disciples did when the storm came and the text doesn’t say if they woke Jesus immediately or tried to ride it out. I do know what I would have probably done if we had hit a storm and the boss was asleep. 1st since I can’t swim I would have put on my life jacket, then I would have started bailing water, ( little can and act like bailing then get 5 gallon bucket) and maybe would have given some other guys paddle so that we could stay on course. After exhausting all my efforts then I would have went to Jesus and said “Come on, wake up, don’t you see we are sinking? Don’t you care? We could use a little help here!!!!

Don’t laugh because you know that’s exactly how it goes in our lives. We hit a storm and start sinking. We keep paddling and bailing just keeping ourselves afloat. We tackle storms in the natural self-thinking I got this if I could just do this or that everything will calm and be better. We depend on all of our own resources until we become so tired we can’t paddle and we can’t get a big enough bucket to bail. And then we cry out, “Help me Lord!!! Don’t you see me struggling? Don’t you even care?”

We ask ourselves where Jesus is. When we get diagnosed with cancer? Where is he when a loved one dies? Where is he when someone walks into a bible study at a church and kills 9 people? Where is he when a spouse has a stroke or heart attack? Where is he when we have problems with our children? Where is Jesus during the storm? Doesn’t he even care?

I’ll tell you where he is. He is in the boat with you. He’s right there ready and willing to step in. When we cry out “don’t you even care!!!? He says “Yes, I care, Hush be still” and the storms start to subside. When you face the storms of life Jesus is right there, he is bailing water with you, he is paddling with you and when you just can’t go on any longer and you realize that you can’t do it alone and cry out as blind Bartimaus did “ Jesus Son of David have mercy on Me !” Jesus stretches out his hand and says peace be still and the storms will begin to subside, the wind will begin to calm, the rain will slack up and stop. The raging storm will become to you as a gentle spring shower.

When you realize Jesus is in the boat with you and you don’t have to ride it out alone life gets easier. O the storm may still be there but you realize that everything is going to be alright because Jesus is in the boat and he can control the wind and the sea.

I know we all have storms in our lives, I know some of us are going through some pretty rough storms even now. Some of us are trying to bail out our boat and its filling up faster than we can bail, we have already lost our paddles and are being tossed to and fro not knowing if we are on course or not. We are in survival mode just trying to keep afloat.