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“They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:41
I loved to take my grandfather fishing when I was in college. He’d had a stroke and walked with a cane, but we’d find a way to get him into a boat and go fishing together. It was a great time for bonding and fishing, and some great memories were made.
One time, on a small chain of lakes, we rented a small aluminum boat to go fishing. We brought along an old Evinrude boat motor which had seen better days. The starter rope had broken off, so I had to take the top cover off and wrap some bailing twine around the pully. Then, pull and pray it all worked! Thankfully it worked that day, so off we went! We traveled across the small lake and went under a bridge to a larger lake and dropped our lines in the water. Let’s fish!
I remember it was a beautiful summer’s day with puffy white clouds in the sky – a perfect day to spend with my grandpa, a man of God, whom I greatly admired. Plus, grandma packed a lunch for us with cans of A&W Root Beer, sandwiches, cookies or candy bars, just in case the fish weren’t biting and we got hungry.
Later that afternoon I remember the sky started to change. Those pretty clouds started to get darker and it wasn’t long until it started to sprinkle. (We didn’t have weather apps back then!) Grandpa was prepared, he had a poncho in his tackle box, and he started to put that on. To be safe, we decided to head back, so I pulled up the anchor and reached over to start the motor. I wrapped the twine around the pully, just like before, and pulled. It sputtered to life, and then died. A few more pulls later, I had the motor flooded and I knew it wasn’t going to start for a while.
By now the rain was coming down even harder now – a full downpour! Plus, now it was thundering – not good for boaters! Now I was starting to get scared! But grandpa kept his calm through it all. After a few minutes and few more pulls, the motor finally came to life. We quickly headed for the small bridge and pulled under it to safely ride out the rest of the storm, which passed over very quickly.
I often think of that day fishing with grandpa when I read this story about Jesus calming the storm with the disciples. I remember how calm grandpa was in the midst of my panic, and how his calmness helped me focus on getting the motor started so we could get back safely.
Jesus can have that calming effect on us, too, as we face storms in our lives. Jesus asks us to put our faith in him – God is bigger than the storms, he commands the wind and the waves! Sometimes we shrink God down to our size, and think God can’t help us, that our situations are too big for him. But that’s not true! The One who could calm the storm can help us, too, and wants to help us! Jesus brings us calm when we surrender our control over to him, trusting is His power, His mercy, and His saving grace.
In Christ; Pastor Dan
