Who's in the boat?

How do you respond when you’re going through a difficult time?

Do you try your best to figure out a solution by yourself? Do you tend towards depression and despair? Do you bury your head in the sand and avoid dealing with the issue?

What do you do when the storms of life are overwhelming and you feel powerless?

In this morning’s passage, Jesus’ disciples are in that situation. They have accepted Jesus’ invitation to go across to the other side of the lake. But when they are some distance away from the shore, a massive storm arises.

The disciples are completely overwhelmed. They feel powerless and afraid. Because their focus is on the wind and the waves, they momentarily forget who is in the boat with them.

When they remember that Jesus is with them and look for him, they find him asleep at the stern of the boat. They ask: “Don’t you care that we are perishing?”

Can you relate to the disciples?

When we are overwhelmed by grief, struggling with stress at work, feeling as though we are drowning under bills and finding it difficult to stay afloat financially in this cost-of-living crisis; When we are worrying about the future and focusing on the waves of trouble coming towards us and the winds of unexpected problems that threaten to push us off course and set back our plans; At times when the storm seems terrifying and larger than life, we can’t see our way through them and have no clue how we will get to the other side.

That’s when we can sometimes feel that God is asleep and unconcerned. At these times we can cry to Him, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?”

And, if you’re anything like me, it is often at the times I need God’s intervention the most that I forget that He is with me in the middle of the problems that are overwhelming me.

I focus on the storm. I focus on using all my energy, my endless ‘to do’ lists, and strength to push through it. But eventually I find myself at a standstill, overwhelmed by my problems and my powerlessness to solve them.

Thankfully, our readings this morning can teach us the best way to respond when we are going through problems in life. So, what should we do when we are in the middle of a storm?

1)      Remember who is in our boat and call out to Him.

It’s far too often only when I’m at my wits end that I remember who is in my boat and call on God to help me. And it’s silly of me because God promises that when we call out to him, he will respond to us. The Psalmist reminds us that when sailors facing a storm were at their wits end “they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper and quieted the waves of the sea.”

In the passage from Mark’s gospel, Jesus does the same. He rebukes the wind and tells the sea to be still. And a dead calm descends on the lake.

God promises to do the same in our own lives, even in those times when we forget He is in the boat with us when we’re going through something frightening.  Jesus didn’t say to the disciples, because you didn’t trust me, I won’t help you. He stops the wind and the waves. He won’t say that to us either. He will respond when we call to Him.

God wants us to remember, that no matter what we are going through right now, we can cry out to Him. He is in our boat.  God, through Jesus, has invited us to have Him travel with us through our lives. He came to earth as a human and lived a human life to show us the way, to show us how we can navigate the trials, struggles and pains that we will experience in life.

But he didn’t just leave us an impossible example of perfection to follow. On the cross He stilled the storm of sin that we could not overcome, no matter how hard we tried. Through his death and resurrection he has opened the way of Peace to us. Directing us to the only route that sinful humanity can be reconciled with a Holy God.

God offers salvation to everyone who calls on Him. He offers His presence to accompany us through our lives. He asks us not to take this offer of His grace in vain. He is with us always and we shouldn’t forget to call on Him as we navigate through life with all its difficulties.

Just as He calmed the storm by speaking to it, when we read God’s words during difficult times, He will still our anxiety and brings peace to our minds.

2)      Remember that He is in control

The second lesson we can learn about how to handle life’s storms is to remember that God is in control. In the Gospel passage, Jesus is asleep in the stern of the boat. In boat racing terms, Jesus was in the position of the Coxswain. The Coxswain sits at the stern or rear of the boat, facing forwards. It is his responsibility to steer the boat, directing the rowers who are sitting with their backs to the destination.

Jesus was in control even when the disciples forgot he was with them and even as he lay asleep in the boat.

The bible constantly tells us not to worry and not to fear. Worrying is so easy to do but it is pointless. Most of the things we worry about don’t actually happen. Worrying doesn’t help us. It isn’t good for your health, raises your blood pressure and anxiety levels.

After he calms the storm Jesus asks the disciples “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Effectively, don’t you trust me? These questions are not to shame us but to challenge us to consider who He is and who is in the boat with us. He wants to remind us that He is on our side.

We can’t see the future. We, like the rowers in a boat race, can’t see in front of us. But God, who is in control, who is the Coxswain of our lives, can see the future. He asks us to remember this, to keep our eyes on Him, and not on the storms we face. To trust Him to steer us safely to the harbour.

3)      God wants us to know who He is and what He has done

Finally, when we are going through difficult times, God wants us to know who He is and what He has done. He wants us to know that He is the Creator God.

In our Gospel reading, the disciples are filled with awe when Jesus stops the storm. They ask each other: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him”. The whole Gospel of Mark is a book of clues, describing what Jesus did and challenging the reader to work out “Who then is this?”, guiding them to reach the conclusion that He is God made flesh. The description of Jesus stilling the storm is another piece of the puzzle that Mark has written. He wants the reader to wonder why this man is controlling the weather, doing things that only God can do. He wants them to ask, like the disciples, “Who then is this?”

Jesus doesn’t explain to his disciples how he will stop the storm. The disciples just see his power to still the storm. In our Old Testament passage, when God speaks with Job in the middle of his troubles, God doesn’t explain Himself to Job. Instead he reminds Job that He is the creator of the universe. That He is more powerful than His creation and is able to control the storms and the seas. He isn’t just bragging about himself, He want’s Job to magnify God, to focus on God and not the wind and the waves that are overwhelming his life. He wants Job to put His trust in God, even when he can’t see a way through his problems or a reason why he is suffering.

God wants us to know who He is when we are in the middle of troubles because God is greater than our biggest fear, and more powerful than the largest problem in our lives. He is the one we can call when we are in distress.

God also wants us to remember that He is good and his mercy and love for us endures forever.

Even when we forget God, He is still there; ready and willing to help us navigate through the problems we are facing. God’s mercy endures forever.

Even if you’ve not spoken to him for so long that you feel he is silent, asleep and not present with you. God wants you to talk to him and to have faith that because He is good, because his mercy endures forever, He has not forgotten you. He will never forget His creation, the environment, animals and the people he has placed here.

God wants to remind us of who He is. The God who created the universe but who has humbled himself to come down into our boats, into our world, into our lives and the problems we experience. God is on our side. He loves us and is able to bring peace in the middle of any storm.

So, this morning, whatever problems we are going through, whatever worries and difficulties we will face when we leave these church doors and go back into our busy lives, we can be reassured that:

-          God is in our boat so we can call on his help.

-          He is in control if we allow him to steer us

-          He is powerful, loving and good

The passage from Corinthians gives us a practical example of what it looks like when people live their lives remembering these things. Having Jesus in their boat with them doesn’t mean there will be no storms in life. The disciples are going through hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger, as they work to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. They get through these challenging times because they remember that God’s help is available to them all the time. “Now is the day of salvation”.

They also remember that he is good and loving and therefore they live their lives as God’s servants, honestly, speaking the truth and treating people with genuine love, kindness and patience. They recognise who God is, and that by his power they can walk in Christ’s righteousness, no matter what storms they face in life.

We can rely on God daily to help us with our problems, no matter how big or small.. He is powerful, loving and good. He is with us always and He promises to bring us to the harbour we are bound for.