Week 1 | Friday

One time Jesus came to my rescue was when I was struggling with crippling anxiety. I would pray each day and one day peace of mind came about and I know it had to be from God. It was a peace that only he could provide. I still struggle with anxiety at times but I am learning to fully put my trust in Jesus and know that God's plans are better than mine and when I trust in him there is nothing to worry over.

The disciples are obeying Jesus. He said, "Let's get into the boat and go to the other side" . Many times we think if we obey Jesus, things will be easier. But even when we obey, things can be difficult. In those situations, Jesus never fails. I know that Jesus sometimes calms the storm-or sometimes He calms us in the middle of the storm. We need to remember to turn to Him instead of trusting in our own abilities. I believe it is Michael W Smith who wrote, "It may look like I'm surrounded, but I'm surrounded by You!" Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is always ready to help. I seem to always have many situations in my family and in the Church which can seem "out of control", leaving me in a constant "fix it" mode. I need to take a deep breath and trust each situation to the Lord rather than rushing from one situation to another, trusting Jesus to lead me. It was Peter who said, "God's power gives us everything we need to lead a godly life". We are not in the boat alone, Jesus is with us!!!!!

I can think of several times when Jesus rescued me in the midst of storms. One was the pandemic story I shared in church a few weeks ago, when I was sliding into depression after losing my job and Jesus calmed the storm by providing an unexpected opportunity to serve. Another was several years ago when I hit a major crisis in my job. That time Jesus provided a way out that eventually led to a new career direction--that's when I became a teacher. And there are countless smaller examples. I am struck by Jesus' response after they woke him up. He seems to gently rebuke them: "Where is your faith?" I'm curious how he was expecting them to respond. It seems natural to be afraid in that situation. Was it because they thought the situation was out of control and they were going to die?

I'm not thinking of any particular storm in my life, because it was basically one big monsoon until I was about thirty, even though I was raised in the church.

But I do have sailing experience -- my second husband had a boat on the St Lawrence, right at the mouth of Lake Ontario, and we would spend vacations and weekends there. Sometimes we would go out for several days at a time, just drop anchor out of the shipping lanes and sleep below at night.

We were always hyper aware of the weather--looking to the sky for signs of storms--and would stay docked if things looked too rough to be out.

So I am wondering why these guys were out there in the first place? Were they too distracted to take proper precautions, or were they so focused on Jesus that they didn't think of their own safety?

I like what Nick said about their obedience. If that was the reason for them going against common sense, then it's a good example for me, too.

Jesus was leading his disciples on a journey to the other side of the lake presumably to spread His teaching there. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; ..."