Jesus and the disciples are in a boat and a storm comes along and starts raging. The disciples are freaking out and Jesus is in a corner asleep. Reading this account we have the luxury of knowing who Jesus is and the fact that the disciples were never really in any danger, but being someone who was experiencing the storm, a high level of anxiety seems like the apt response for the disciples to have. Remember most of these guys were fishermen, they knew these waters so they weren’t panicking for the sake of panicking. This was a big deal. And yet Jesus was asleep. He knew full well that they would make it to the other side of the lake storm or not.
Sometimes our anxiety is based on the idea that we as believers shouldn’t have storms. We shouldn’t feel pain or hurt or loss, that if Jesus really loves us he would spare of all that. Perhaps that was what the disciples were feeling in that moment - if Jesus is here and the storm is raging... is there hope for us? The answer is Yes.
Our hope isn’t in a good outcome from the storm. Our hope isn’t in a good report from the doctor or job security or carrying a healthy baby to term. Those aren’t bad things but that is not where our hope is supposed to lie. Our hope is in Jesus Christ our Saviour and our God. The God who holds us in the palm of his hand and who promises to never leave us or forsake us. The landscape of our lives will be altered in ways that we don’t understand and we probably won’t like, but our hope is in a God who does not change like shifting shadows. He is constant and he is sure and it is in Him that we are to anchor our hope.
by Kalesha Peters
