And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat
was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they
went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And
he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he
rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds
and sea obey him?”
Matthew 8:23-27
This was a quick and violent storm. I’ve been through my share of fast-moving rainstorms here in Colorado but I’ll never forget one particular storm that my husband and I weathered while on vacation at the beach. One minute we were walking in the sand, the next minute we were being pelted with heavy rain in a driving wind. It came upon us faster than I could say, “looks like it might rain soon.”
Even the most sudden of storms will give little signals announcing its arrival if you are watching for it. The wind picks up ever so slightly. The clouds in the distance look just a bit darker than they did 5 minutes ago. Animals begin to scurry home, waves in the ocean rise just a few inches higher.
The storm that the disciples faced was a “great storm.” My guess is that even in the direst of conditions, they probably at least had a few minutes to look at the sky and analyze the clouds approaching. Many of them were experienced fishermen, accustomed to storms at sea. Maybe they had time to prepare for the waves, tighten the ropes, batten down the hatches and find something sturdy to hang on to.
Once the waves got high enough to begin filling the boat, they finally call out to Jesus. Can’t you just picture them? Standing ankle-deep in water, frantically trying to wake Jesus up so they could be saved (nevermind that Jesus was in the most vulnerable position of all: asleep).
Why’d they wait so long? Why did they wait until the waves overtook the boat to finally cry out to Jesus?
Many storms in our lives have advance warning. Grades start slipping in school. A headache lasts a little longer than it should. An unhealthy family dynamic festers as the weeks drag on. We often see the storms coming and in those moments we have a choice to cry out to God or hold on to whatever is around us for stability.
We don’t need to show God how strong we are. We don’t need to test our resolve to see how much we can handle. There’s no prize for holding out the longest before crying out to God.
I remember when we first began struggling with infertility. The months dragged on and I had a suspicion that something wasn’t quite right. I waited patiently and I kept a tight hold on all the things I had control over. I didn’t cry out to God because I didn’t think things were bad enough to warrant it. I didn’t want to acknowledge that perhaps there was a problem. Instead, I kept a firm grip on doctor appointments, medications and blood tests. Oh how I wish I had cried out to Him sooner, at the first sight of storm clouds on the horizon.
Of course, there will always be the moments where no measure of preparation can be taken. The heart attacks, the car accidents, the miscarriages. There is no preparing for these. But for many of life’s storms, we can choose to seeks God’s hand the moment something feels a bit off.
Why wait until things get so bad that you’re drowning and have to plead for your life? We can turn to God at the first sight of storm clouds. The first stirring of the wind and the rising of waves can be a signal to begin a conversation with God. We can ask Him to help us, prepare us, fortify our hearts so that when the day comes, we are ready for the storm and we are so deeply connected with God that He never has a chance to say, “why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”
God longs for us to turn to Him. In the good times and bad, we are free to reach out at any moment and He will take hold of our outstretched hand. There is no need for guilt if we’ve maybe waited a month too long. He gladly receives us the second we look to Him in our time of need.
In Christ, we never have to endure alone.
