Is Jesus Sleeping Through My Storm?

Scripture

22Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake (Sea of Galilee).” So they set out. 23But as they were sailing, He fell asleep. And a fierce gale of wind swept down [as if through a wind tunnel] on the lake, and they began to be swamped, and were in great danger. 24They came to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are about to die!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging, violent waves, and they ceased, and it became calm [a perfect peacefulness]. 25And He said to them, “Where is your faith [your confidence in Me]?” They were afraid and astonished, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?” Luke 8:22-25

Observation

“If I’m not worried, why are you?” This is the question I felt Holy Spirit asking me as I read this familiar passage with fresh eyes again. There’s a couple interesting points about this story that fly in the face of assumptions Christians make.

Assumption 1: Following the Prince of Peace will be peaceful.

It’s clear that Jesus is the one who led them in to this storm. This was either really bad planning on the part of our Savior or there are lessons we only learn when in the middle of a storm.

Assumption 2: I shouldn’t HAVE to ask Jesus for help.

Jesus, even while sleeping, is in control. Notice He responds when the disciples ask Him for help even it’s more panic than prayer.

Assumption 3: God doesn’t understand how exhausted I am.

Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. They would see both His humanity and divinity in this storm. If Jesus is sleeping through a storm that is tossing the boat like a rag doll, then, clearly, that is one exhausted minister of the Gospel. Jesus not only knows what it like to be worn out He knows sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap before the next assignment (see Elijah in 1 Kings 19:5-18).

Application

Assumption 4: God doesn’t really care about me.

This is the most devastating assumption of all. After calming the storm Jesus asks, “Where is your confidence in Me?” Jesus had already told them they would cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They had a promise that this would happen. Yet, when they saw the size of the waves and their sleeping Savior they were convinced of the same lie that caused Adam and Eve to doubt God in the Garden, “He doesn’t care”. If He cared He wouldn’t let this happen. If He cared He wouldn’t be sleeping through this trial I’m in. If He cared He wouldn’t have led me in this direction. If He cared He would have warned me this was going to happen. The moment we buy into this lie we begin to doubt every promise God has spoken to us. The disciples no longer remembered the promise of the shore because they were sure they were going down with the ship. Yet, the question remains, “If Jesus isn’t worried, why am I?” We all woke up this morning to the same storms on the horizon- financial, moral, legal, political, relational, spiritual, physical. These waves are massive and looming and the 24/7 news cycle has all our eyes trained on them with terror. Meanwhile, it seems, our Savior is sleeping, is God even moving, does He even hear our prayers? We must decide before the storm who we will trust in the middle of the storm. We must put our confidence in the fact that the One who has led us this far will lead us back to shore. We also must remember this important truth, it’s not MY storm, it’s OUR storm. He’s in the boat with me. If He’s not worried then why am I?

O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds You. You rule the raging of the sea; when waves rise, You still them. (Psalm 89:8–9)

Prayer

I’ll admit Lord, there have been times when it seemed You are asleep while the water was coming in faster then I could bale it out. Yet, here I am after all those big waves, those impossible healing, those miraculous provisions, those glorious rescues where You came through! Why in the world would I still doubt you care when everything You have done and do shows me the exact opposite. Your care for me is all encompassing and if You’re not worried then why am I?