Calm Down and Hold Your Boat

As 2012 came to a close, I prayed about where in the Bible God would have been start reading in 2013.  The book of John kept coming to mind, for various reasons.


Quite arguably the most famous verse in all the Bible is found in John, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."


New believers are often encouraged to read the fourth gospel, as John clearly portrays Jesus as our much-needed Savior.  And so, it's a great place for those searching for answers or new in their faith to begin their journey of learning about Jesus and what a relationship with Him entails.

We are going to be working with elementary and middle school kiddos on a daily basis, and going deeper with those in our Ponca and Beyond Bible study on Sunday evenings.  If am going to be mentoring and discipling these boys and girls, introducing them to a life where they passionately love Jesus and boldly live for Him, then I myself should probably be extremely familiar with the life of Jesus.  Yes, I've read the book of John before.  Yes, I have been following Jesus for nearly 25 years now.  BUT, I want to read it again, this time from a fresh perspective, looking at the stories and teachings of Jesus from the eyes of a kid on the verge of becoming a teenager.  I want to use what I learn to help me better train and equip these boys and girls to grow up strong and firm in their faith so that they can begin this hard-core, radical adventure of pursing Jesus with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength NOW!

With that being said, this morning I opened my Bible to John 6 and began reading in verse 16.  Jesus has just  turned a young boy's lunch of five loaves and two small fish into a feast for over 5,000 people who had come to hear Him speak and see Him heal the sick and lame.  Amazed at His ability to produce food out of nowhere, the crowd is ready to take Jesus by force and crown Him their king.  Knowing this is most certainly not why He came to earth, Jesus retreats to the hills to spend some time alone, away from all the multitudes of people who do not understand who He is, why He is among them, or what He wants to do in their lives.

The story continues, "That evening His disciples went down to the shore to wait for Jesus. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn't come back, they got in the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum." 

My first thought is: I can relate to that.  I know what it feels like to wait, and wait, and wait, and wait for someone to come, for something to happen.  As you wait and wait and wait and wait, you grow restless.  You get impatient.  You might even begin to doubt that you are supposed to be waiting; maybe you are supposed to go ahead and make a move, get the show on the road.  Something, anything, just no more waiting!

Well, that is what the disciples decided to do.  They had waited long enough, at least according to their way of thinking.  It was getting dark, and Jesus still wasn't there.  Surely He didn't intend for them to waste any more time sitting around doing nothing.  Surely He must have meant for them go on ahead of Him and He would meet up with them later.  Surely they had waited long enough...

And so, they got in the boat and headed out across the lake, WITHOUT JESUS.

That would be their second mistake.  The first being that they grew tired of waiting, that they didn't trust Jesus and His timetable.  Now, they have come to the erroneous conclusion that they will be just fine without Him, that their schedule is more important, or at least makes more sense, than whatever Jesus had planned.

So easy to hang my head, sigh deeply, and shake my finger at those silly disciples.  But then, I realize how often I do the exact.same.thing.

Then, just like the disciples, I find myself in a world of trouble every.single.time.  John tells us, "Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough."   The majority of these men are experienced fishermen who have spent many a day, and night, out on the water.  I am quite certain they had dealt with strong winds and heavy waves at least once or twice before this particular evening.  And yet, there they are, rocking and swaying in their boat, wondering if they are going to capsize and questioning their decision to leave without Jesus.

Jesus was, of course, right there with them all along, but He doesn't make His presence known right away.  He gives the disciples some time to think about what happens when they rush ahead and leave Him behind.  He lets them fight the waves on their own for a bit.  Maybe then they will remember that they are helpless without Him, that they desperately need Him, that waiting for Him really isn't so bad after all.

We are relieved as John lets us know, "They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat."

Reading the story thousands of years after it took place, we know the "ghost" they saw (as Matthew described in his account of the same story -- 14:26), was not a phantom but Jesus Himself coming to the rescue.  The disciples, however, are in the middle of the story, rowing their arms out and praying a wave doesn't come crashing down on their boat sending them flying into the angry water.  Jesus doesn't let His disciples stay scared for very long though.  "They were terrified, but He called out to them, 'I am here!  Don't be afraid.'  Then they were eager to let Him in..."

Of course they were "eager" to let Him in.  Eager might even be a bit of an understatement, given their dire circumstances at the time.  They were more than ready for Him to get in the boat and join them, counting on Him to save their lives.

Not only did Jesus calm the storm, but He also cut their travel time down substantially as John reports, "and immediately the boat arrived at their destination."  How convenient!  No more waiting now.  Not when Jesus is WITH them.  Nope, that's when things finally got moving and it was smooth sailing from there (pun intended).

As I said, I have read the book of John before, and this story seemed familiar to me.  I know His miracle of feeding the 5,000 is a popular one, so I searched through the other gospels to see if I had indeed read the account somewhere else.  Yep, Matthew also provides us with a record of Jesus taking the loaves and fish and turning them into an all-you-can-eat buffet, though his version of what happened after everyone's tummies were full is slightly different from John's rendition.  "Immediately after this, Jesus MADE His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while He sent the people home.  Afterward He went up into the hills by Himself to pray.  Night fell while He was there alone.  Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves."  

In Matthew's version, the disciples didn't wait and wait and wait for Jesus to come.  Instead, Jesus had seemingly loaded them up in the boat Himself, pushed them out to sea, and sent them on their merry little way alone.  Meanwhile, He went back to take care of dispersing the crowds and then took advantage of the fact that His disciples weren't right by His side.  He went up into the hills to enjoy some peace and quiet, to pray and spend some much-need time alone with His Father.  As Jesus was praying, the disciples were battling the wind and the waves, wondering where in the world Jesus was now.  So maybe there was some waiting involved in this account as well, in the form of the disciples waiting for Jesus to come to their rescue (just as we saw them do when we read John's side of the story).  Matthew also tells us of Peter doubting the man on the water was really Jesus and wasn't convinced until he got out of the boat and was walking on the water with Jesus.  But that's a whole different lesson right there, so I must restrain myself from getting on that rabbit trail....

Back to the story here in John's gospel.  I really feel as though God answered my prayer to help me read and see things with fresh eyes, to learn something new, or notice something I had previously missed.  As He always does, God knew my heart and exactly what I needed to hear from His Word today.  He understands that I am growing tired of waiting for our house to sell.  Before I do as the disciples, though, and grow weary of waiting, God reinforced that I should NOT become impatient.  I should NOT want to rush on ahead, but rather trust in His timing, believing that His schedule is more important and far better than mine.  Or else I might end up in the same boat (again pun intended) as His disciples and find myself frantic and scared as I brace myself for the waves to come crashing down on me.  He also reminded me that He is right here with me, even during the storms, and that only when I am WITH Him will I experience true and lasting peace.

How fitting, then, that the Daily Verse on my phone this morning reminded me of what Jesus assured His disciples all those years ago, "I am leaving you with a gift -- peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives.  So don't be troubled or afraid."