Mark 4:35-41
Have
you ever found yourself in a spot that you in which you felt trapped, seeing no
way out? You looked around and could not see the resources you needed to get
out. If only you were a superhero. They always seem to be able to use the most
ordinary objects to fashion either a weapon or a tool they can use to get out
of those tight spots. Unfortunately, I am not a superhero. Or a black ops Navy
Seal trained to do everything with their bare hands.
Back
down again to real life, we do sometimes find ourselves, or those we care
about, in situations that don’t seem to have a way out. In those moments we
pray for intervention of the divine kind. We ask the LORD to intervene. We
pray.
The
disciples find themselves in just such a situation. They are crossing the Sea
of Galilee in a fishing boat and a storm arises. At least four of the men in
the boat are professional fishermen. I am sure they had been in storms before. They
would have known how to keep the boat safe in a storm!
Of
course they were traveling at night. Do you remember the first time you drove
by yourself at night? For me it was a very strange feeling, down the country
roads, my headlights providing a knife that cut through the darkness. I slowed
down even on the most familiar curve because the light had not provided assurance
that nothing was on my path. Perhaps they knew how to read the signs of a storm
during the day, but not at night.
I’m
pretty sure they tried everything they knew to be safe. Pride would have seen
to that. But at some point they realize they are in over their heads,
literally. The water is filling the boat faster than they can empty. They are
barking orders to the makeshift crew. Perhaps they can even hear shouts of
desperation coming from the other boats. And then….
And
then one of the disciples, or perhaps several at the same moment realize there
is one resource they have not used. He is sleeping in the back of the boat. He
has multiplied bread, healed the sick, even raised the dead. Perhaps He can do
something to help. He might know which direction to turn to get out of the
storm. Or maybe some new rowing technique that would give them extra power
against the wind and waves. Or super fast bailing work.
But
what Jesus does shows the nature of spiritual authority. Spiritual authority
does not need to work through normal, earthly channels. It can work completely
out of the ordinary. It can do things that are impossible, at least for us
human types. Jesus simply speaks. Jesus is the E.F. Hutten of storms. He speaks
and the storm listens!
No
matter what overwhelming the things that are happening in your life may be,
maybe it is time to ask Jesus, really ask Jesus to help. He can do things that
you could never expect in your wildest imagination.