Imagine this with me: you are on a boat, amid a storm, caught in between. Rising waters gush all around you, and winds beat against your body until you can barely keep your eyes open. Your hands grip the edge of the boat with as much strength as you can muster. Pushing against everything the gale throws at you, you attempt - really attempt - to stay sturdy against the elements.
But eventually, your hands fail. Your fingers lose their grip. Your eyes have taken in so much spray from the waters that they can hardly stay open. Yet, with whatever sliver of vision remains, you turn to the side.
And you see Him.
The storm is still present, yes, but He is unfazed. Against the backdrop of crashing waves, you look at His glorious stature and His ever-calming demeanor - a calm so profound it compels you to rest. The kind of peace that makes you forget everything else. The kind of peace that makes you wonder where He was all this time, only to realize He was right there all along.
My Jesus was there the entire time.
*WHY DID I NOT LOOK RIGHT BESIDE ME ALL THE WHILE? *
This illustration was born from that exact realization. I wanted to capture the contrast between the chaos that consumes us and the serene, unshakeable presence of Jesus right beside us. So often, we tire ourselves out trying to hold everything together on our own strength, forgetting to simply turn our head and acknowledge the One sitting in the boat with us.
We see this lack-of-acknowledging-Jesus-in-the-boat tendency occur in the Bible in Mark 4:35-4. A sudden, violent storm hits the Sea of Galilee, and the boat is nearly swamped. Jesus, amidst all this, was fast asleep……ON A CUSHION?! In our culture of high efficiency and constant search for control, we cannot begin to comprehend how someone could sleep through a sinking boat.
When the panicked disciples wake Him up, they cry, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
That line seems way too close to home. When something doesn’t go our way, we go, “Jesus, don’t you care?” “Jesus, where are you?” “Jesus, are you even listening?”. Why is it that when life gets turbulent, our immediate reaction is to question His love? It’s evidence of how quickly the enemy pounces during a crisis, feeding us the lie that God has abandoned us.
After rebuking the storm with a command - “Quiet! Be still!” - Jesus turns to the disciples and asks, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
I love to imagine the disciples’ unscripted reactions in that moment. They must have looked at Him completely bewildered, thinking, “Wait, let us put the facts back on the table: raging storm, gushing winds, swamped boat!” Fear felt like the only natural, logical response in this crazy situation.
However, Mark notes a crucial detail: Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the boat.
The stern houses the ship’s propulsion and steering mechanisms to drive, direct, and stabilize the vessel through water. This was no coincidence. By resting in the stern, Jesus was physically demonstrating who holds ultimate control.
Colossians 1:17
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
When Jesus asked, "Do you still have no faith?", I imagine Him looking at them with a sorrowful sigh: Do you still not trust my presence? Do you not trust my power to direct you?
How could Jesus sleep so peacefully in the stern? Because He had complete faith in His Father. And He calls us into that same posture - to rest knowing He is at the helm. He doesn't just calm the storm outside; His presence in the boat is enough to quiet the storm inside us.
When we choose to anchor our trust in Him, our hearts align with the Psalmist in Psalm 71:
Psalms 71:15-17
15My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
And that is the essence of this illustration: that in the storm, in the thick of it, when we call, He answers. May we lean on Him, resting secure in the knowledge that the One who drives, directs, and stabilizes our lives is right here with us - all for His glory, His honour, and so that more people may come to know His saving grace.
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