Quiet! Be still!

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” 

--Mark 4:35-41

I want to take you back to that day…on that boat…with Jesus.

Can you conjure up the image of a lake in your mind? Hear the sounds of the water lapping the shoreline. Smell the fishy, earthy scents in the air.
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What a long day it has been.

We started the day on the other side of this lake. Jesus has been telling all kinds of parables to explain the Kingdom of God. He’s talked about seeds and lamps. He’s talked about sand, and rock, and even mustard! Some people seemed to understand exactly what he was talking about while for others, his words went right over their heads. Even we, the disciples, would need time alone with Jesus so he could explain everything to us. Every now and then we would pull him aside and bombard him with questions. He was so patient with us as he explained.

And we were tired at the end of the day. When Jesus finally said, “Let’s go over to the other side”, we were glad to leave the crowds for some relaxation. But that’s NOT what we got…at least that’s not what MOST OF US got.

Everyone loaded up. There were others boats that followed along with us, too. We knew Jesus was tired. He settled in the back of the boat on a cushion and was soon asleep. Some of the other guys rested, too, but I was one of the rowers as we made our way to the other side.

All of a sudden, the wind picked up! We were being thrown around on the water and the waves got large enough that they broke over the boat. We were nearly swamped! Now, everyone was wide awake…well, almost everyone.

There was Jesus, still sleeping like a baby. We couldn’t believe it! Didn’t the sound of the storm scare him like it scared us? Couldn’t he hear the thunder and the crashing of the waves? Didn’t he feel the cold water splashing on him?

Irritated, we finally jostled him awake. “Don’t you even care if we drown?!” we asked him. And then “that” looked passed over his face. The look that we saw every time we disappointed him…which was more often than I would like to admit.

He stood up. And he spoke to directly to the wind and waves. He shouted, simply, “Quiet! Be still! We just stared. What in the world was he doing? But the storm listened! The wind died down, the waves settled, and it was completely calm. Completely calm.

And next, he turned to us. We were surrounding him, quiet and terrified. He looked around at each of us and asked, “Why are you afraid?” And then, “Do you still have no faith?”

That question hit us hard. We have given up our careers and our lives as we knew them to follow Jesus. And yet, when times got tough, he was exactly right—we didn’t have the faith to know that he would get us through the storm.

And after he settled back down for some more rest, we realized that Jesus was much more than just a great teacher of the scriptures. “Who is he?” we asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
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And what about you? Are there times in your life when the wind is blowing and the waves are knocking you around…and yet, Jesus seems to just be sleeping.

Why is God ignoring me? Where is He? Can’t he see that I’m hurting? (Shout) “Don’t you even care if I drown?!”

You know, I think there are really three ways this can go.

I believe that through many of life’s storms Jesus is resting in the background. We must learn to deal with the storms that life throws at us. We must develop coping skills and a world view that uses those storms to make us stronger.

Let me ask you a question. In this story, had Jesus abandoned the disciples? Had he grabbed a life preserver and left them to fend for themselves? Had he? No. It was a storm. A normal storm…yes, storms are normal. So they got tossed around a little. So they got a little wet. Some of them were raised as fisherman. They had the skills to weather this storm. And Jesus was going to let them do just that.

Why? How can we know all of the reasons that Jesus, that God, allows storms to brew up in our lives? Yet, we know that He does…when all He would have to do is shout, “Quiet! Be still!” I can’t tell you that I always understand, but I can tell you that these storms where we feel alone and abandoned are not in vain.

In Paul’s letter to the people of Rome, we learn in Chapter 8 and verse 28 that all things work together for good for all of those who love God and are called according to His purposes. All things work together for good. Even the storms where we can see absolutely NO GOOD, God will use them for good in the long run. He promises!

So that’s the first way that Jesus may react to the storms in our life.

Through other life storms, I believe that Jesus is beside us fighting the wind and waves. He doesn’t shout, “Quiet! Be still!” But we feel his presence at these times. We take strength from him to battle these storms. Have you been through a storm such as this when you knew God was with you helping you through it? A classmate of mine has a young son who has battle cancer his whole life. She feels God’s presence and does not feel abandoned. She knows that Jesus’ arms are wrapped around her on most days holding her up. I can tell this from her blog that she uses to journalize their days and praise God for their blessings. Amazing.

And sometimes, I think that we’re asleep. That’s right. Sometimes I think Jesus fights battles for us that we are oblivious to. Spiritual battles… some with Satan himself…for our very souls. We don’t know what battles Jesus helps us avoid through his presence in our lives. Do you ever wonder?

Well, do you realize how many people were spared on 9/11? Have you read the stories of uncanny coincidence that saved lives? Maybe a vacation had to be cancelled so a man didn’t get to get on the plane. Maybe a woman took a cigarette break and the plane ran into her office while her elevator was making it’s way to the ground. Maybe a computer glitch made a stewardess have to fly to another city instead of riding with her normal flight crew to Los Angeles. These are not random “what if’s”, these things actually happened according to CNN in a 10-year Anniversary article that was run.

Although some people may say it was “luck” or just “coincidence”. I say no. Although timing may affect good or bad things that happen in our lives, I also believe that sometimes we are just spared…for whatever reason.

But believing this also means that sometimes I believe we are NOT spared…for whatever reason. God is sovereign. We won’t always understand, because you see…we are NOT God. We are not omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. We are not love…full of grace and mercy, justice and holiness. We simply can’t always understand. But no matter what, Jesus is always there during our storms, whether he is resting in the back, active beside us, or dominating in front of us, he is always there…if we ask him to be.

Have you asked him to be there? Do you doubt his presence in your life? Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?

Friends, trust in him. Trusting in Him doesn’t mean that things will always work out the best for YOU. It means that things will work out for good in the long run.

Remember…even the winds and the waves obey him. He is Jesus Christ our Lord, Son of the Living God. Amen.

Missed Flights and Bad Falls

I was looking forward to, yet dreading, 10 full days at seminary. Of course, I was looking forward to the time to focus and connect with my colleagues, but I was really dreading being away from my family for so long after our recent move. Everyone was still adjusting to our new busy schedules.

In the past, I had made the drive to Wilmore, KY. But this year I was another 4.5 hours away. There seemed to be a huge difference between a 13 hour drive and an 18 hour drive. I just didn’t think I could pull it off. But I was thrilled to find a reasonably priced ticked out of Garden City. My drive would be just 45 minutes with a layover in Dallas. I could leave early Thursday morning and be in class Thursday evening.

And by early, I mean EARLY. My flight was at 6:05 am. However, with Garden City Airport being just a small regional airport, I figured I could show up an hour early and that would be plenty of time to get through security and get loaded up.

So, I set my alarm on my iPhone for 3:30 am. I missed a flight once, so I am now always paranoid that it will happen again. With that said, I didn’t sleep well that night. In fact, I laid awake for about an hour just waiting for my alarm to go off, thinking about my upcoming week.

But once the alarm sounded, I was up and around. I had packed the night before so it was just a matter of showering, dressing, and loading everything up…and hugging everyone goodbye. Even if they were still sleeping.

I was pleased that I was giving my last hug at 4:15 and was ready to walk out the door. But I looked at Annie’s clock as I hugged her and noticed that it said that the current time was 5:15. What? Hmmm….I wondered how her clock and gotten off by an hour.

I went back upstairs and looked at another clock…5:15. I looked at my iPhone….4:15. What in the world? “Todd,” I hollered, “what time is it?!”

Groggily he opened his eyes and looked at his own phone. “It’s 5:15. What did you do?!”

I hurriedly explained that my iPhone time was wrong and that I was going to try to make my flight anyway. Maybe there was a delay. Halfway to Garden City, my phone started displaying the correct time. Thank you very much.

But, of course, I saw the plane take off while I was right outside the terminal.

Shoulder’s slumped and feeling sorry for myself, I walked into the airport and explained what had happened. My comment to the guy at the ticket counter was, “I apparently was supposed to miss this flight. I rely on my phone every day and have never had that happen before.”

He scheduled me on a flight later in the day.

I drove back home. And while I was there, I realized that I would run out of my asthma medication while at Asbury. So, I took the time to call in a refill. On my way back out of town, I swung by to pick it up.

“When we run this through your insurance, it says that your policy is cancelled,” said the gal at the counter of the pharmacy. I didn’t have the time for such a message. I told her I would just fill it when I got back. I would be fine without my medication for a few days.

But on the way, I stopped at my office and caught my human resources gal. “Whitney, the pharmacy told me this morning that my insurance policy is cancelled.”

“It is,” she said. “You told me you were switching to your husband’s insurance on October 1.”

Oops. That had originally been the plan. But when we compared our policies, Todd and I had realized that it would be cheaper for my insurance to be through my employer while he and the kids were on his policy.

“Oh Whitney. Did I forget to come in and redo that paperwork?” Well, of course I had. And this day was October 3. Neither his insurance carrier nor mine had to let me back into the group. It was likely that I would have to pay full price for a separate policy or just go uninsured until January 1.

I was in tears. That was just too much for one day.

But I went on to my flight and made it to Kentucky. Within a few days, Whitney let me know that she had talked to the BCBS director and they had agreed to let me back in our group since it was discovered within only 2 days.

If I had not missed that flight, I would not have called in that refill. I would not have realized that I had no insurance until at least October 15. I most likely would be uninsured today.

Now…let me fast forward.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I participated in our first 5K. We enjoyed doing this together! Of course, our times were not impressive and we stayed together throughout the trek. But we thought this would be a good way for us to start getting back into shape together.

So, last Tuesday (11/12/13) evening when I told him I wanted to go walk the 5K route, he was not surprised. I didn’t want to mess with carrying my phone, but he convinced me to take it “just in case.” At about the 2 mile mark, a saw a semi coming down the road toward me so I decided to walk in the ditch until it got by. But I stepped either in something or on something, twisted my ankle, and ended up in a heap with my foot caught under me at an unnatural angle.

It was work just to get it out from underneath me! And I knew immediately that I had broken it.

I pulled out the cell phone and called Todd. Actually, I accidently pushed the “facetime” button. He said I looked like a crazy woman on the screen of his phone. And I FELT like a crazy woman.

“Come get me! I’ve broken my ankle!” I explained where I was while biting back the incredible pain. We went directly to the ER…and then by ambulance to the hospital in Garden City where I had surgery the following afternoon.

Wow….are we ever thankful that we have good insurance! We are so grateful that I missed that flight last month! When this hit me while lying in that hospital bed, I exclaimed it out loud. “THIS is why I missed that flight!”

The gal from Numana that helped me coordinate the food packaging event in Salina last year contacted me right away. Right before our event, she fell down her stairs and broke both of her ankles. “I know you will have a blessing come from this, Gina. I did.”

And you know what? I’m quite sure she is right. Whether this was just one of those things that happen in a fallen world that we must cope with…or whether this incident was orchestrated by God for a specific purpose, I have NO DOUBT that He will bring good from it. He’s amazing that way!

Thank God today for your missed flights and bad falls. Even when you don’t understand how they could ever result in good. Even if you never see in your lifetime, how they did result in good. Trust in the Lord and they surely will.

Romans 8:18-28 (NIV):  I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.