Luke 8:23-25 – As they sailed, Jesus fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.

Matthew 26:36,38-40 – Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?"

We need to learn when to be awake and when to rest. Jesus was awake in the Garden of Gethsemane and yet He slept on the boat during the furious storm. On the other hand, the disciples slept in the Garden and feared for their lives in the storm. Things that are problems to us are not problems to the Lord, and the reverse. We need to distinguish which is which. We, as Christians, knowing that a storm is coming in our life situation, tend to build bigger boats to weather the storm. But the Lord has those kinds of storms under control. All we have to do is curl up trustingly beside our Saviour and rest. But we must be awake when it comes to our Lord's burdens. If we can learn this simple lesson, we'll be saved from a lot of worry, and have more time to spend in prayer about the Lord's burdens.

Many times during the storms of our life, we wonder where God is. We look for God in the illness, the financial disaster, the marriage break-up, the bereavement, the storm. And when we don't find Him, we assume He must have deserted us. But Jesus wasn't in the storm, He was in the boat, right there with them through it all.

Prayer: Thank You, God, that You are always with us. You promised You would never leave us, never forsake us. Give us Your grace to discern Your presence and to trust Your control of the storms of life. Amen.

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About the author:

Garth McFadden <garth@rivercom.ca>
Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
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