Jesus, don’t you care?

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  Mark 4:37-40

I never have understood that story. I always thought Jesus’ admonition to the disciples about having “no faith” was … kind of harsh.  After all, the boat was sinking!

Well, Lord, the “waves” are crashing on my boat. I feel as though I’m sinking and You are asleep below deck.  How can I not be anxious when I know very well that not all earth-stories end calmly?

What is faith supposed to look like when the situation is going from bad to worse?

I know this isn’t theologically articulate, but maybe what God wants most is our complete confidence in His control in the midst of whatever rages. Maybe He wants us to cleave to Him the way we’d cling and plant our face in the back of a friend who leads the way through a haunted house at a state fair? Maybe it really is all about the journey and not about the outcome?

Some people will call my faith denial or delusion, but I know His voice and His touch on my life the way you know the voice and touch of a friend. And so, I’ll cling and trust even if my little boat completely sinks, which is a distinct possibility at this point!

Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
    to those who search for him.

 So it is good to wait quietly
    for salvation from the Lord.

Lamentations 3:21-26