[Trust in the ‘Out of Our Control’ Storm (Part I)]
One day he and his disciples got in a boat. “Let’s cross the lake,” he said. And off they went. It was smooth sailing, and he fell asleep. A terrific storm came up suddenly on the lake. Water poured in, and they were about to capsize. They woke Jesus: “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
Getting to his feet, he told the wind, “Silence!” and the waves, “Quiet down!” They did it. The lake became smooth as glass.
Then he said to his disciples, “Why can’t you trust me?”
(Luke 8:22 - 25)
:::
Maybe you have experienced it before: A moment where the world seems to stop, nothing else matters, and you are faced with the consequences of a life altering experience. For those around you the world keeps spinning, but your world is forever changed and you have no idea where to start again.
August 2015 was a month of ‘world-stopping’ for me. Looking back, it feels like I can’t even remember that August happened. As a friend remarked to me the other day, if I start listing all the things that went wrong, I could keep going forever, constantly finding more and more things that simply did not go my way.
The story of the disciples and Jesus crossing the lake came to me in this midst of this crazy month. The disciples (experienced fishermen, remember) were calmly sailing along and all of a sudden, a ferocious storm arose, completely out of their control. They had no power to do anything except panic – I mean, who can control the weather? And yet, the strangest thing was happening in the midst of their panic. Jesus was calmly taking a nap while the world was ending for the disciples.
I can understand their panic. That’s how this month has felt to me. I know Jesus is with me, but he is definitely not awake and aware of the chaos, pain and loss I am facing. Can’t he see how the world is crumbling around me – All the immense loss and hurt, all these things that are completely out of my control causing chaos and pain?
The disciples woke Jesus up in a panic, not understanding how he can just keep sleeping in the midst of the storm. I am so grateful that Jesus meets us where we are at, because he got up, calmed the storm and then spoke to the disciples.
He brought peace first and “then he said to his disciples, “Why can’t you trust me?”
Fundamentally, this is the question that we need to answer.
Can we trust God when we feel completely out of control?