WATCHWORD:
23 Then he got into a boat and started across the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly a terrible storm came up, with waves higher than the boat. But Jesus was asleep. 25 The disciples went to him and wakened him, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re sinking!” 26 But Jesus answered, “O ye of little faith! Why are you so frightened?” Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and waves, and the storm subsided and all was calm. Matthew 8:23-26
35 As evening fell, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed). 37 But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink. 38 Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?” 39 Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet down!” And the wind fell, and there was a great calm! 40 And he asked them, “Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?” 41 And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?” Mark 4:35-41
Meditation:
Trouble
“My friends, you got trouble, Right here in River City
With a capital “T” and that rhymes with “P” and that stands for pool
We’ve surely got trouble, Right here in River City
Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule
Oh, we got trouble, we’re in terrible, terrible trouble
That game with the fifteen numbered balls is a devil’s tool
Oh, yes we got trouble, trouble, trouble…”
I think a lot of us can remember Robert Preston, as the Music Man, singing a warning to the people of River City about the evils of the game of pool and letting them know that the solution was to buy instruments and uniforms from him and forming a town band. Yes, there was trouble, but we loved the happy ending. Such a classic musical. We would see it again.
Oh, yes, we’ve got trouble, and it probably has nothing to do with the game of pool, or a swimming pool or the Hasbro board game of Trouble. But, it probably has everything to do with the real game of life, our personal lives. The trouble in our lives will not be resolved, and calmness restored by our puny efforts. That is a big job, but we have big help from the God of the Universe. Sometimes the biggest barrier to overcoming our trouble, our adversity, or whatever you may call it, is ourselves. Too often, our ego is much too big to rest on faith and allow the Lord God to help you, until it gets really intense…there is that last-resort desperation.
The disciples were surrounded by a terrible storm. They were racked with fear and there was Jesus sound asleep, or was he? Could he have been acting in order to observe his disciples? Surely, not! I wonder, though. Would it really make any difference? What was his first comment? “O ye of little faith! Why are you so frightened?” The disciples did not fully understand who this man was. He charged them with Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?
Fear is a reality in our lives. We hear Jesus say “Fear not for I am with you”, and if we take that into our heart and into our faith he gives us peace, and the fear subsides. To repeat, I think that God allows us to experience trouble in our lives because the trouble, translated as our storm, has a purpose, a reason for having been right there in our way. A lesson to be learned and we tend to forget that the absence of faith is fear.
Jesus knew that he had a lesson to teacher us, His disciples, and that storm was the perfect visual aid. His statement, Let’s cross to the other side of the lake, has a double meaning. Not only was it a reference to crossing to the other side of the lake, it was also the opening the eyes of the disciples, seeing firsthand a side of this man, Jesus, a side they had never seen before. This experience with the perfect storm, seeing Jesus for who he really is, would be with them, and us, for the rest of our lives, throughout the ministry of those disciples and on to you and me.
How much peace do you think it would generate with us, personally, if we go into our own perfect storm, with the conviction that we are in a boat of difficulty, but Jesus is onboard. We need to learn and practice the lesson: Faith overcomes fear. So be it.
An Invitation to Contribute:
Over the past several weeks we’ve had a number of subscribers to watchwords who have suggested topics, which have been turned into meditations. It is helpful in the researching and in the writing of Watchword meditations to have the suggestions, and I’ve acted on them each time I’ve received an idea. I would encourage anyone to suggest a topic to be explored, or to write a 200-300 word meditation that would be included in an issue of Watchword. Please give this some thought, it would be of great help in generating Watchwords in the future. Thank you. Stan
Closing Prayer:
Dear God, I come before You to lay my panic and anxiety at Your feet. When I’m crushed by my fears and worries, remind me of Your power and Your grace. Fill me with Your peace as I trust in You and You alone. Amen.
