Jesus asleep in the boat with his disciples (experienced fishermen) on the Sea of Galilee is an echo of Jonah asleep in the the ship with the pagan sailors as it tried to sail across the Mediterranean Sea.

“Jesus is not present on every page of the Bible,
but the grace of God is evident in every narrative.”
Bryan Chapell

In both narratives the Lord allowed a huge windstorm, a furious squall on the waters threatening the vessels and the men they carried. God was waiting to pour out his grace.

On their way to Tarshish across the Mediterranean, the mariners reacted by trying to lighten their ship by hurling their cargo overboard and by calling out to their gods.

On the Sea of Galilee, the disciples response was to row harder, to row faster. Neither the hurling or the rowing helped.

How often is my first response,  what can I DO to calm this storm that is threatening me?

Like the disciples I knew Jesus personally.
Like the disciples I was mighty afraid.
Like the disciples I was struggling with belief.

What did I do? I hurled trying overboard; I no longer cared. Rowing harder looked Iike pasting on a smile and hiding behind a suffocating mask.

All the while, Jonah and Jesus slept on. I’m not sure I felt like God was sleeping through my hard; but I had lost hope.

Because calling out to their gods didn’t calm the storm the frustrated mariners woke Jonah. A last resort. Perhaps his “god” would respond.

The angry disciples shook Jesus awake, do you not care that we are perishing?

Both the mariners and the disciples were filled with great fear. I was too.

How many times have my prayers tried to wake God to my predicament? How many times have I begged, please help! Those desperate prayers originating from fear were my last resort.

On the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee, God quieted the tempestuous waves and the seas ceased from their ragings. On the Sea of Galilee, Jesus spoke only three words, “Peace! Be still!”

How often are those God’s words to me, “Be still (Sue) and know that I am God.” You are going to see my grace in this chapter of your life.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;”
Isaiah 43:2

God controls the waters. The grace of God prevailed. Hope returned slowly but surely.

Several years later, God gave another opportunity to trust that he would calm the waters swirling around our family.

 

Ezra was only 6 months old when he was rushed to the ER. For twelve long weeks in four different hospitals, physicians worked to diagnose and treat the hyperinsulinism that controlled his young body.

Ezra’s family lived in Los Angeles at the time. I lived with them for six weeks alternating with his parents twenty-four hour shifts in the hospital and caring for his two older siblings at home.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1, 2

Whether in the hospital, around their neighborhood, or at the park, everywhere I looked there were hills — in Los Angeles! The psalm was penned to instill confidence in those on their way to Jerusalem to worship. The hills were full of terrifying animals; they were to be feared. Yet those making that journey knew that their help rested in the Lord. Those verses spoke peace to my heart in those days. Those words calmed the waves of my reality.

How often did I need to remind myself of these words, this truth? Often! Daily! My daughter-in-love stitched this for me. To this day it hangs in “Mana’s Writing Room” and reminds me, “My help comes from the LORD, who is always awake, always near, always aware, always ready to dispense his care, his love, and his grace.

God continues …

“He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber not sleep.”
Psalm 121: 3, 4

Not even, and especially even, when the storms threaten. Perhaps that is when his grace shines best.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, February 2021