Daily devotional · July 3
Peace in the Boat
“When that evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side.” After they had dismissed the crowd, they took Jesus with them, since He was already in the boat. And there were other boats with Him. Soon a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was being swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. “Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?” Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?””
The disciples were experienced fishermen, and still the storm terrified them. What stings in this scene is that Jesus was in the boat the whole time, asleep on a cushion. Their cry, do you not care that we are perishing, is the one many of us have prayed in the dark. Jesus does not scold them for asking; he stands and speaks to the wind, and calm returns. Then he asks a gentler, harder question: why are you so afraid? Sometimes the storm outside is real and sometimes it is only in our heads, but in both cases Christ is not absent. Today, when a wave of worry rises, pause and breathe slowly. Pray a single sentence, such as, Jesus, you are in my boat. Then take the next practical step in front of you, however small, trusting that he is present.
Prayer
Jesus, you are in my boat. Speak peace to the storms around me and within me.