Matthew 8:23-24 (NIV) Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.

Have you ever been on a boat in severe weather? I have, and it can be very ominous and terrorizing. It feels as if the boat will capsize at any moment and that you will be swallowed up by the raging sea. That’s what the disciples were facing one day when they went on a boat to get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Notice that the passage of scripture above describes the storm as furious. The waves were sweeping over the boat from the storm-tossed sea. And where was Jesus? He was asleep on the deck of the boat. What a scene that must have been. While the disciples were panicking trying to keep the boat afloat, Jesus was the perfect picture of peace.

Since we are not in a raging storm on a boat right now, we have time to think about this. Why was Jesus so unafraid and seemingly unconcerned about the weather? That’s an easy one to answer. It’s because He was and is God, and in case you haven’t figured it out yet, God cannot drown in the very sea that He created. But a better question is, why were the disciples panicking? It was because they forgot that little tidbit of information when things got dicey. All they were thinking about was how to survive in a boat that was being tossed like a toy in the furious storm. They were not thinking about the fact that the Creator of that sea, along with the wood that the boat was made of, was on board with them. They did not know how safe they actually were because Jesus was on the boat with them. We know from the verses that follow that the disciples woke Jesus up and that He spoke to the wind and the waves and told them to be still and yes, the wind and the waves obeyed Him.

If you happen to be on a boat on the sea right now, Jesus is not on the deck of your boat with you at the moment. He’s not there because He is actually closer to you than that. Jesus is not on the deck because He is in you through His Spirit. There is no closer relationship on this earth than Christ in you and you in Him (see John 15:5). That means that if you are in one of the furious storms that life springs on you from time to time, that same Jesus who was sleeping on the boat through that furious storm is not only with you but in you, which means that you will not capsize and that your problems will not cause you to drown and be swallowed up. Like the disciples, you may forget for a moment during the frenzy that Jesus is with you. But remember that while you will feel the effects of the storm, you are perfectly safe because Jesus is there with you. He is the Prince of Peace and will speak peace into your life and your situation to the point where you, too, will be able to find sleep through your storm until Jesus calms it or brings you safely through. He is able to do it, He is faithful to do it, and He will do it again and again in your life. Sleep soundly, for He will never leave you.

Pastor Joey Vazquez