Drowning

Luke 8:22-25
"One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them,“Where is your faith?”

Sometimes when I read this verse I look back on situations in my life where I have felt like I was "drowning." Many times I have felt like Jesus has asked me to come with him to the "other side of the lake." He does this for many reasons; he does this to refine me, to strengthen my faith, to teach me how to trust him more, to smash idols in my life, or simply to reveal his goodness in a new or different way.

When "crossing the lake" I often have the same response as the disciples... I freak out! After reading past journals, I unfortunately came across this a lot: "Lord, why have you allowed this in my life? Lord, where are you and what are you doing in my life? Lord, please just take this away!" Essentially what I keep saying is "Lord, fix this!!!!"

In the verses above, I am amazed by Jesus' swift response to the situation. It's as if he is saying to the disciples, "Stop freaking out! I am in control!" He then takes care of the situation and then challenges the disciples to learn from their lack of faith. In my case, I almost amusingly tend to freak out about the smallest things. I think Jesus would say something like this: "MaryBeth, stop freaking out! You are only standing in two feet of water! You won't drown in that unless you try to do it yourself!"

So, what am I learning from all of this?

When Jesus takes us to the other side of the lake, we should see it as an honor that He continues to ask us to come with Him. He loves us too much to let us sit on the other side of the bank. He wants us to know Him intimately! We can't do that if He is in the boat and we are sitting on the bank!

If we learn to have a willingness to simply follow Him by faith, I can only imagine the places that He will take us!