Is Your Boat Rocking?…

Luke 8:23-25 But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.

Oh Come On! You know you do the same thing… you wake up Jesus! I do… when I am in the midst of the storm, and the waves are threatening to take me under… I yell and scream… “I’m dying here!!

But what do I do when life is just sailing along? Am I just as anxious to talk with My Lord when the sun is out, the sails are taking me where I want to go and I am feeling warm all over? And… if I am talking to Him… is my demeanor just as serious as when I am “perishing”?

My point is not that I/we should be in a continual state of desperation, in fact we can have peace beyond comprehension. My point is the attitude of need my heart has for Jesus. Most of us only get serious when we are at the end of rope… when we have done everything… when our self-reliance has proven itself useless.

And then we wonder why God allows trials in our life! If it is the only time we will look FULL in His wonderful face then I say… It/they are exactly what we need!

I say… God, rock our boat… and our world!

Is that wishing for “bad” things to happen? Hardly!! But when they do… I want every drop of them to be used to show me the love of My Lord and Savior.

Matthew 14:28-30 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” (which He did)

Matthew 14:31-32 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 

I don’t want to look at the wind or the waves… I want to look into the eyes of Jesus!… “Lord, save me!” I want to walk on water! I want to walk on holy ground!

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Without trials we grow complacent (and secretly bored, I think). Without trials we begin to believe we need no one. Without trials that test our faith, we do not  know we lack faith, nor do we search for someone other than ourselves to put our faith in.

Everyone of us has faith in someone or something. We each set our foundations… we anchor them deep… we decide who &/or what we pursue. The trials of life that come against us will reveal upon what ground we have built (sinking sand or indestructible rock), how strong the anchors of our life are, and if they will withstand the storms coming for us… You will know the truth (about yourself and about your choices)  and the truth will set you free!

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

What is complete, lacking in nothing? “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!”

Is your boat rocking?

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB      version of the Bible