I remember the day that the Master came to me and said, “Follow Me.” I left my family and friends and followed Him. I’ve followed Him from town to town and have seen Him say and do some amazing things. Even so, when the Master stepped onto the little boat, I found it very difficult to follow Him there.

I’ve lived and worked for all my life on the solid land. I had no business pretending to be a sailor. A few hours into the journey, my stomach chastised me for not taking the longer route around the sea, by foot.

At first the darkness didn’t bother me. As my friends each fell asleep, I found myself being spooked by the unfamiliar environment of the sea. Some things were real, like fish jumping out of the waves. However, much of what scared me was created in my imagination. I longed for the return of daylight.

Peter sat at the rudder, but he too had drifted off to sleep. I looked to the sky to see if we were headed toward the same stars as we had been before. I hadn’t noticed when it happened, but clouds now covered up the stars. I glanced back at Peter, but my eyes were drawn to a green billowing cloud. I stepped over my sleeping friends and shook Peter awake.

“What is that?” I asked, my finger pointing to the sky.

“Could be a storm,” Peter groggily answered.

Andrew stirred. “Last time I saw clouds like that…” his voice trailed off as he swallowed hard.

I had the scary feeling that the worst part of this trip was yet to come.

“What are we going to do?” I asked thinking that there was a procedure to follow in times like this. I had yet to realize that we were essentially defenseless before the great power of a storm.

“Help us take down the sails,” Peter ordered. He seemed interested in keeping me from spreading panic.

I noticed James muttering to John, but I could only make out one word of their conversation. That word was “capsize”.

Fresh fear flowed into my heart. “Capsize!” I shouted, having never considered that possibility. “I can’t swim!” I screamed, hoping that somehow that would spare me from being plunged into the cold water.

The heavy canvas sail fell to the boat’s floor as its ropes were loosened. I scanned the deck looking for something I could use to keep me afloat.

Then, in the span of two heartbeats, three terrifying things happened. First, a flash of lightning lit up the night. Then a crash of thunder shook my bones. Following that the scariest thing of all occurred. A single raindrop landed on my arm. The only thing that kept me from melting with panic was the hope that this storm would have mercy on us, and go in a different direction. That raindrop, and the quick arrival of its friends, stole that hope away from me.

Without warning the wind attacked our boat. Waves lifted us high and then quickly dropped us down. After a time, from behind me came the sounds of fearful shouting. I did not want to turn my head, because then I’d have to deal with yet another problem. My head turned anyway. I added screams of my own as my eyes beheld a towering wall of water looming above me.

I was quickly buried in water as the wave crashed on our delicate boat. The water dragged me across the deck and slammed me into the mast. I clung to it and wondered if I would ever get another breath of air.

In a while the water level fell. I filled my lungs with air, and coughed out water at the same time. My vision began to clear. As it did, I saw something that turned my fear into anger. I spied the master curled up in the front hold of the boat, SLEEPING! “How dare he!” I spewed.

Here I was, probably living the last minutes of my life, and the Master slept. Doesn’t He care about me?! How can He sleep instead of comforting me?! I staggered to the front of the boat so that I could confront the Master. As I drew closer the Master pulled up His blanket to cover His face. This drove me insane with anger.

My hand took hold of a piece of the blanket. As I yanked it away I yelled just slightly louder than the wind at the master. “Don’t you care?! Don’t you care that we are all going to DIE?!” My eyes bulged in terror as I screamed, “How can you sleep?!”

The Master opened His eyes and calmly took His blanket back. His eyes were filled with love, patience and at the same time, disappointment. He softly spoke, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?”

Then He rose to his feet. He pointed His finger into the wind. Then in a firm voice He said, “Be still!”

I briefly wondered if the Master had lost His mind. Why was He talking to the storm? Before I could say anything something happened that I shall never forget.

The tall waves instantly melted. The whipping winds became gentle. The pelting rain ceased. Our boat that just a moment ago was being tossed around like a toy now floated calmly in the sea.

The master went to continue his sleep while the rest of us stood motionless in the now calm night air. After a while someone broke the silence and exclaimed, “What manner of man is this…” We all stared at the sleeping Jesus while he continued, “…that even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

Do real Christians experience times of suffering and pain? Do problems disappear once we ask Jesus to be our savior? Aren’t Christians supposed to walk around with permanent grins on their faces? What if a Christian does struggle? Are they bad? Is God punishing them? Do they just need to adjust their attitude and deny their problems?

This story of Jesus and the storm teaches us a great deal about the Christian’s experience with suffering and problems. This is a subject that I am still learning about!

Firstly, this story tells us that in this life, we WILL experience storms (problems). We can be as obedient as a person can be, and still the storms will come. We can be super holy and still experience problems. As long as we exist in this sin shaken world, we will suffer. Do Christians have problems? Did the storm slam into the apostle’s boat? Yes, and yes.

“But Jesus calmed the storm!” the problem-phobic Christian says. Yes he did. That day He did. It would be a mistake if a person assumed that God will still all our storms. I don’t see a promise of that here or elsewhere in scripture. In fact, such instant relief seems to occur infrequently. I wonder if my constant prayers for instant relief and healing sound like the frantic faithless disciples waking Jesus up in the boat.

That takes me to the last point I learn from this story. No matter what the situation looks or feels like, Jesus is right there with me. It might not appear to me that He is in control, but this story shows me that He is. I often confuse the fact that my trials continue even after my demanding prayers that they cease to mean that Jesus is asleep in my life. I make the serious mistake of thinking that He is unaware of my suffering, when He knows it better than I do. Am I alone?

I’ve noticed that it is very easy to live like a spiritual giant on the good days. If a storm should come into my life my faith seems to shrivel up. And whoa, if that problem should persist longer than I think it should, then I am quickly assuming that God has abandoned me.

Don’t we serve a patient God? Notice that in this story it was His hand picked followers who melted under pressure. Jesus makes it clear that He desired that they would have great faith, He knew that He was dealing with frail people. It seems that Jesus would have liked for the writers of the Gospels to be able to write, “And the apostles were so full of faith that they rested with Jesus in the midst of the storm, trusting Him fully.” Notice that even in their failure, Jesus treated them with such love. He saw their fear, and stopped the storm, in this case.

Sometimes in my weakness I approach God with accusations like, “Don’t you care about me?” and, “Why have you abandoned me?” Even then He still covers me with love. He patiently waits for me to discover that he has been close by all the time. He allows me time to realize how actively He is working in my life.

So instead of demanding that God instantly provide a solution for my troubles perhaps there is a better way. Might it be better to skip the part of my prayer where I tell God how I think my problems should be addressed? Rather, should I pray that His plan, whatever it is, be accomplished? Should I ask God for wisdom to keep out of the way and to not hinder His will? Should I ask God for the vision to see His hand working in my life? Wouldn’t it be great to ask God for greater faith so that I can stop relying on my feelings and perceptions?

It is easier to write this next part than it is to live it. Aren’t we grossly unqualified to determine the best answer to our problems? For one thing, don’t we operate under such limited information? Can we know the future? God does. Can we know the hearts and intentions of others? God does.

Further, we know from scripture that God is good. (Psalms 118:1 and others.) It is an important distinction that while I can be good, God is good. I can also be bad. God cannot. When I attempt to fix my problems, I do it with a flawed heart. My heart is mixed with good and bad. That will affect my plans. When God authors a solution, it is completely good. It will be good for our families, our church, the saved, the unsaved, and us. God is good, and everything He does is good.

Feeling fearful? Afraid? Panicked? Weary? Weak? Uncertain? Alone? It needn’t be that way. Jesus is most certainly in your boat with you. He has a plan, and it is good.

Hebrews 13:5b tells us where God is, “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Romans 8:28 says of God’s plan, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

James 4:8a reminds us what to do when we can’t seem to find God. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”

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