Life’s storms may be increasing but there is hope

In the face of so much disturbing news at home and abroad, we can be encouraged to know there is hope. While anxiety and fear are natural, when we remind ourselves of others who similarly have experienced them and found assurance and peace, we can begin to change our outlook and face the world with greater confidence.

Such is an incident recorded for our benefit in The Holy Bible. Here it is:

“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.

And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”” Matthew‬ ‭8:23-27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In the ancient world, the sea in all its forms (the Sea of Galilee is a large lake fed by the Jordan River) was associated with chaos, danger, uncertainty and the unknown. Galilee could be still and peaceful but also subject to sudden, unpredictable and violent storms in which sailing, especially in a small fishing boat of the first century AD is dangerous.

When we reflect on this physical realty the similarity to life in general becomes clear, as it also is unpredictable and subject to various difficult, threatening and dangerous circumstances.

Incidentally, a fishing boat of the type used by Galilean fishermen was discovered practically intact on the bottom of the lake in January 1986. Scientists dated the boat to some 2,000 years ago, in the exact place and time Jesus was active in the region. The boat’s body is made of 12 different types of wood, all mentioned in the Bible. This remarkable find is preserved today in the Yigal-Allon Centre on the shores of Galilee.

Jesus was in a small boat like this, with the men, his closes followers, when a furious storm arose. But he was peacefully sleeping after the rigours of a demanding day with thousands of people who wanted to see, hear and be healed by him. The fishermen were terrified by the ferocity of the storm. They knew the danger and were certain that they would be lost.

So they woke him up.

Jesus spoke sternly to the storm, the implication in his words is that this was not only an act of nature, but that some malevolent unseen force also was involved. Calm returned and the boat, rather than being stranded in the middle of the lake was at its destination. The fishermen were dumbfounded by the event, but recognised that the power Jesus wielded, with merely his words, was other-worldly.

Life’s storms are real. Our individual lives are like that small, fragile boat. Navigation at times, like the Sea of Galilee, can be “plain sailing” until something unforeseen arises in our personal situation.

Or, as in our world today, we are pounded daily with very bad news in our nation and elsewhere.

The hope that this story offers is that if Jesus is in the boat with us, if he is in our lives, if we are living living daily with our faith and trust in him, and his words, then we can be quietly certain that he will guide, direct and be with us through all the storms.

In the case of those fishermen, Jesus was asleep when the storm was surging. When they woke him, he made it clear that they had failed to exercise their faith that,even though he was asleep, all would be well.

He may quell whatever storm is surrounding you. But he also may permit the storm to continue, and ask you to rely upon the fact that he is in the boat and that you are not alone.

Life’s storms may be increasing but there is hope.

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