Every life is upset by a storm now and then. We all have different ways of weathering them.
There’s a bible story of Jesus sleeping in a boat during a treacherous storm whilst His disciples panic over the danger they find themselves in. They waste little time in waking Him in order for Him to save them before they perish. These are the same guys who had seen all the miracles had He performed, the same men who had confessed Him to be the Son of God – yet, they still panicked. I’m glad for that story because I seem to spend a ridiculous amount of time chastising myself every time a storm in my life rocks my boat so, I figure I’m in good company. Surely they asked themselves the same questions I ask myself: don’t I know what He is capable of? Haven’t I had enough proof? How many times will He need to save me from peril before I get it?
The thing is – I want more than that. I don’t want to weather the storms, ride the waves, or be the survivor of a supernatural search and rescue. Neither do I want to be heroic and face the eye of the storm – I’ve had plenty of adventure in my life thank you very much.
This is my desire for the next storm: I want to cuddle up with Jesus under that tarp – no life jacket – just Him. I want to close my eyes and smell the rain. I want to feel His warm arms around me as the wind tries to pick me up and carry me off. That’s right. I want to sleep through the next storm not as a way of avoiding it, as a means of dealing with it! My plan is to see the next storm as a calm reflection on the sea, like a mirror of light dancing across a few ripples. Can I do it on my own? Of course not, but with Him … anything is possible if one believes.
