Dan’s Divinities
There’s a story about a photographer assigned by a national magazine to take pictures of a forest fire. The assignment editor told him a small plane would be waiting at the airport to fly him over the fire.
The photographer arrived at the airstrip just an hour before sundown. Sure enough, a small Cessna airplane stood waiting. He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, “Let’s go.” The pilot, a tense–looking man, turned the plane into the wind, and soon they were in the air, but flying quite erratically.
Not paying too much attention to the manner in which the pilot was flying, the photographer directed him where to go. “Fly over the north side of the fire,” he said, “and make several low-level passes.”
Looking at the smoke and blazing fire, the nervous pilot exclaimed, “Are you sure? Why would you want me to do that?”
“Because I’m going to take pictures.” yelled the photographer. “I’m a photographer, and photographers take pictures.”
With an even more worried look on his face, the pilot replied, “You mean you’re not the flight instructor?”
That may have been an anxious moment for both the photographer and the student pilot. No doubt, you have had an anxious moment or two in your life. Perhaps you are suffering from significant anxiety right now.
Jesus’ disciples had an anxious moment when they were on a boat in the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). Much like Lake Livingston, storms on the Sea of Galilee can come up quickly and catch boaters off-guard.
That day, wind and waves crashed against the boat, swamping it. Through all this turmoil, Jesus slept soundly in the stern of the boat on a cushion. The disciples woke him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?” (Mark 4:38). Jesus spoke to the storm and said, “Silence. Be still.” The wind and the waves quickly died down and there was a great calm. Jesus chastised the disciples for their lack of faith and spiritual insight.
When we are in a storm, where is our faith? Is our faith in our own abilities, or in the love of God for us and His power to calm our storm? Storms are unpredictable, uncontrollable, and possibly deadly. The storms of life can be chaotic and even demonic. They threaten to destroy us, but if Jesus is in our boat, we can call on Him, and He will pull us through.
I went on a Kairos mission to a state prison recently. I met a lot of men who exist in the darkness of prison life, yet those who had come to Christ had light in their lives and hope in their hearts. Most of their storms were of their own making, but as they realized the extent of Jesus’ love for them, their fears were calmed and they discovered a new inner strength that empowered them to live and believe.
When Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee the disciples were overcome with awe, and said to each other, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him.” (Mark 4:41). They realized he was more than just a religious figure and a good teacher. They eventually came to believe that He was the Son of God and God’s Messiah who had come to deliver their souls from death and give them eternal life.
I hope you have discovered who Jesus really is. When you feel like the wind and the waves are going to overwhelm you, call out to Jesus. He will birth faith into your heart. He will rebuke your storm and give you peace.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
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