Have you ever found yourself in a spot that you in which you felt trapped, seeing no way out? You looked around and could not see the resources you needed to get out. If only you were a superhero. They always seem to be able to use the most ordinary objects to fashion either a weapon or a tool they can use to get out of those tight spots. Unfortunately, I am not a superhero. Or a black ops Navy Seal trained to do everything with their bare hands.
Back down again to real life, we do sometimes find ourselves, or those we care about, in situations that don’t seem to have a way out. In those moments we pray for intervention of the divine kind. We ask the LORD to intervene. We pray.
The disciples find themselves in just such a situation. They are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a fishing boat and a storm arises. At least four of the men in the boat are professional fishermen. I am sure they had been in storms before. They would have known how to keep the boat safe in a storm!
Of course they were traveling at night. Do you remember the first time you drove by yourself at night? For me it was a very strange feeling, down the country roads, my headlights providing a knife that cut through the darkness. I slowed down even on the most familiar curve because the light had not provided assurance that nothing was on my path. Perhaps they knew how to read the signs of a storm during the day, but not at night.
I’m pretty sure they tried everything they knew to be safe. Pride would have seen to that. But at some point they realize they are in over their heads, literally. The water is filling the boat faster than they can empty. They are barking orders to the makeshift crew. Perhaps they can even hear shouts of desperation coming from the other boats. And then….
And then one of the disciples, or perhaps several at the same moment realize there is one resource they have not used. He is sleeping in the back of the boat. He has multiplied bread, healed the sick, even raised the dead. Perhaps He can do something to help. He might know which direction to turn to get out of the storm. Or maybe some new rowing technique that would give them extra power against the wind and waves. Or super fast bailing work.
But what Jesus does shows the nature of spiritual authority. Spiritual authority does not need to work through normal, earthly channels. It can work completely out of the ordinary. It can do things that are impossible, at least for us human types. Jesus simply speaks. Jesus is the E.F. Hutten of storms. He speaks and the storm listens!
No matter what overwhelming the things that are happening in your life may be, maybe it is time to ask Jesus, really ask Jesus to help. He can do things that you could never expect in your wildest imagination.
The Arnold Journey 