God leads.
I follow.
God sets a destination before me.
I trust in him to bring me there.
God goes silent.
I start to panic.
I question his plan,
doubt his cause,
and fear his promptings.
I wonder, where did my Lord go?
Have you ever been in these shoes?
Sure of where you are going – only to question, shortly thereafter, if God has fallen asleep on you?
You are not alone.
Jesus’ closest friends felt exactly how you felt.
You see they had a destination. Jesus said to the disciples, after a time of deep and meaningful life instruction, “Let us go across to the other side (of the sea).” (Mk. 4:35)
They knew where they were headed; they had a destination and Jesus was going to take them there.
But plans were changed as a storm threatened their boat.
Despite their effort to move, to go and to make progress something stood against.
It not only seemed their journey a lost cause, but they probably felt that way too.
How often are we like the disciples?
We scream out in our storms, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” (Mt. 8:25)
“Where are you Lord? I am drowning here.”
“Lord, didn’t you tell me – to go?”
And, sometimes he answers.
And, other times – it seems – he doesn’t.
When he doesn’t, we wonder:
1. What did I do wrong?
2. How did I go wrong?
3. What is Jesus doing wrong?
We almost want to grab him and say, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ (Mk. 4:38)
We are here Lord, we are in this rocky, turbulent boat called life, Lord! Do you see us? Do you care? Where are you? How come you are not directing us to our destination like you planned?
We try to shake him.
We try to wake him.
We know we only need his touch – because it will do so much.
So, we bawl and we call.
And, he sees our squall.
Not to let us fall. He comes to our rescue as our all-in-all.
But, only then do his words brush up against our heart saying, “Dear one, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mk. 4:40). Or, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ (Mt. 8:26)
And, in this moment, we realize, he was with us the whole time.
We already had the touch that we desired so much.
But, we missed his saving power.
We lost sight of him.
What if we actually believed -through the storm, rather than fearing – in the storm?
What sort of miracle would Jesus do?
What would we behold?
A deep sense that “we missed it” floods over us.
Because, while we thought he was sleeping and dreaming of things other than us, he was always planning to bring us through – according to his ways.
He was always in our turbulent boat, right there next to us.
We saw the storm raging, and felt alone, but he was right there – in the midst of it – not leaving our side.
While we feared waters would cover us and we would never reach the promised land, the Lord always had a hand of protection over us – even though we couldn’t see it.
Jesus calls us to grab hold of faith in storms that appear to prevent us from charting the course he set before us.
Faith that he won’t leave us.
That he is with us.
That he can be silent and working at the same time.
That he has a plan despite the circumstances around us.
That he is greater than our best efforts to calm any storm.
That prayer and joy and an eager expectancy of his rescue is the only way to go.
That he is greater than the nature of the world that surrounds us.
Jesus didn’t fall asleep on the cross. He knew where he was going.
He never lost his touch.
He is always touching.
He has already conquered all storms, all sin and all sadness.
He knows our destination and his destination for us. Nothing will come against.
Jesus always saves.
I wonder if the disciples wondered if Jesus had fallen asleep – and forgotten them – for 3 days after his death?
Or, did they remember this little boat in a big sea, that tossed like leaf in a windstorm, that threatened their destination and that made them fear? Did they remember that Jesus was always near? That despite how things seemed, the Lord has a greater dream for them.
I wonder.
Perhaps, when the Lord greeted them this time, in heaven, he looked at them and said, “You of great faith, oh, how you have pleased me!”
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I am delighted to be joining Suzie Eller for #LiveFreeThursday!
Hey Kelly! I wonder sometimes how I would’ve acted if I was on the boat that night. It’s so tempting to doubt and not hold on through the storms. Oh but when we trust Him- wow!! Great post today:)
Thank you Kristine. It is interesting to think of how we would have acted. I think I would have done the same thing they did! ha! Much love you Kristine. I pray today, when the waves get strong, we can grow stronger through our faith in Jesus Christ.
It saddens me how often I am so sure that God has given me a destination, but as soon as things don’t go the way I think they should I panic and start to second guess it. Maybe if I chose to trust Him through the storm and not fear instead of giving up and trying it my way I would see the blessing on the other side. Not maybe, I know I would.
Yes! He has joy and his peace awaiting you. I have been thinking the same things for myself. We will push on in the name of Jesus.
Kelly, beautiful words today that I needed to hear to be reminded that He is there with me in my storms!
Thank you Kim! God loves you so dearly, so passionately and so thoroughly. Blessings to you today as you push on by faith.
I really needed this message today as I have been stressing over storms in my life. Thank you.
Lord, let Jenny just be – with you. Let her just draw – from you. Let her lean – on you. God goes with you Jenny!
Beautiful, encouraging words! Thanks for writing!
Thank you for reading this Meggie. I am blessed by your feedback to me.
Whenever I tell my finance to just have faith she gets very uptight and shuts down I have lived the past 19 years of my life of just having faith
I understand. That is amazing that you have such great faith. This is really something to be thankful for. For many people, the struggle with faith is so deep. Knowing the truth and promises of the Lord – and really believing them makes all the difference, as you know.
Kelly, your blog is exactly what I need in my life right now; the ability to deal with past pain and to be able to share this with those women in my life that are also in need of God’s truth. Thank you for your honesty, your courage to help others and your drive to share with your sisters in Christ. Many blessings to you.
I am so glad the blog is speaking to you. This blog is just as much a healing process for me as it is for you. There is so much power in the truth of our Lord. It heals. I am blessed that you wrote this to me. Thank you for this.
Kelly am exceedingly blessed thank you for this.
I am delighted to hear this James. Thank you greatly for letting me know.
Love this post, Kelly, this quote especially, “We saw the storm raging, and felt alone, but he was right there – in the midst of it – not leaving our side.” I heard Tony Evans say on Moody Radio today, “Jesus had his head resting on a pillow–he planned to go to sleep”…which speaks of His sovereignty, He was already there on the other side when He laid His head down on the pillow…whew! What an awesome God ❤️
Wow. That is such an interesting thought. He is so powerful. He is so above. Thank you for sharing this Beth!
He’s not asleep on the job, and he’s never surprised by our circumstances… He’s the God of Provision, making the cross of death into the Cross of Provision… yes, yes!!!
I love your writing style, and your open approach to His truths, Kelly, I really do 🙂 May the God of all bless you bigger than bigger than big.
I love your words to me Christine. You encourage my soul and bless me with your prayer. God is so big and so unbelievable. What an honor we have in worshipping him, right?
Just taught on this last Saturday Kelly! God would not let me get away from these verses! I love that you recognize and point out that they had a destination! I love that it says, let US go to the other side! Jesus never asked the disciples to go alone and He doesn’t ask us to either. When the waves rise we have the choice of panic or trust. I’ve panicked so many times! Lord, wake up, don’t you see me! Of course he sees me…there is nowhere we can go without His presence. We must recognize his presence! Discover his love, recognize His presence, see His power and be courageous! Just as the disciples had to learn and nurture their relationship with Jesus so must we. And when He says let us go ….. Get in the boat! Strong words my sweet friend! You have a gift of sharing!
I love that Jodie! God’s timing is perfect isn’t it? You have great comments and thoughts around this. We do have a moment’s choice. I love that. I wish I could have been there to listen to it! Love you dear friend. Thank you for your words!
A needed reminder which I shared with my readers! Thank you, Kelly.
Hi Serena, I am honored that you shared this with your readers. Thank you for this. Much love to you.
Kelly, this fell as balm upon my tossed-about soul. I needed to hear this today. Yes, Jesus is always with us in the turbulent boat! Yes, He has already conquered all the storms! May we trust Him even when He is silent.
Love the insight you’ve shared here! So often we want a way OUT of the storm and He wants to go with us THROUGH it!
Amen. That is so true Lisa. He calls us to go through it!
I am in a midst of a storm and feel like I am alone and the storm will never end. Your article and the postings by others are the balm to help calm my stormy sea. Thank You and I ask for prayer
I am so glad that my words could be a calm in the midst of your storm. I am praying for you Marianne. I am praying that God delivers you soon from all that rocks your world.
Great post! You are absolutely right, He isn’t surprised by anything. He knows & He is the calm during our storms. He is The Rock. Thanks so much for this!
Megan, you are so welcome. Thank you so much for joining me here. It is a delight to have you. He has us in the storms, no matter what comes against!
I can very much relate to this scripture…had a good storm through last fall. During this time we were working through the book of Mark at church. In the course of reading and talking about it, my husband pointed out that the disciples were afraid of the storm, but after Jesus calmed the storm they were terrified. Jesus wanted to make sure they saw that He is much bigger and greater than any storm…than any thing that they feared…
I love that insight Karen. That is powerful. He is above it all, even nature obeys him! That’s right, we should also fear God. We lose that sometimes.