Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be Alright!

Driving home from a restful, restorative weekend getaway, Dan and I were suddenly startled by the roar of three sports motorcycles as they swerved out to pass us on the winding, two-lane road. Adrenaline spiked by the auditory onslaught, we remarked that this was so dangerous; we had seen so many accidents on that road because of reckless driving.

Sure enough, as we rounded the next bend, two riders were nowhere in sight while the third – no motorcycle in view – lay on his back in the middle of the road. The first to arrive, we called 9-1-1 and went to speak to him, assess his condition, and help to calm him while we awaited emergency services. Two neighbors who had also seen him lying there came over to help locate his bike (in the ditch) and belongings. Sitting beside him, holding his hand, I asked “Do you know Jesus?” …  A quiet “No.” … “Is it okay if I pray for you?” … “Okay.” So, I did. So did Dan.

Emergency services arrived. They loaded him up and took him to the hospital. We thought that would be the end of our interaction. However, we had used my phone to call his wife as he lay there, so they had my phone number. In the wee hours of the next morning, we received a text. The gist of it was that he had miraculously only suffered a dislocated elbow and wanted to apologize for denying that he knew Jesus; he had experienced many difficulties in his life and was laying there in pain and fear, doubting that God had ever seen or cared for him.

Isn’t that just like us?

In fact, the disciples who walked with Jesus every single day experienced this kind of doubt. The book of Mark, chapter 4, details one of those moments. Jesus and his disciples had spent the day among a crowd that had come from all over the region because of the miracles He had performed and His teachings that had spread. Wanting to hear, see, touch, and receive from this man who seemed to have a lot to offer, people travelled to the seaside to get what they could from him. Every healing, every teaching, all of the things that drew people to him, were witnessed first-hand by the disciples. The Scripture even says that they got the behind-the-scenes explanations for what Jesus said and did. Theirs was not a passing, surface-level acquaintanceship with Jesus.

Then, the storm came.

Out on the sea, in the boat that had been prepared ahead of time, a windstorm blew up. The account in Mark says that the waves were “breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.” (Mark 4:37) This wasn’t a tiny summer shower that would pass quickly. It was a storm. My mind imagines thunder and lightning, salt spray and seafoam flying high into the air, disciples finding whatever vessels they could to frantically scoop water out of the boat and stay afloat. Amid the noise, the chaotically sloping ship deck, and the survival efforts, one of them hollers, “Somebody go wake up Jesus!!!” It was their 9-1-1 call!

Wiping the remnants of slumber from his eyes, rising up from the cushion in the stern of the boat where he had been peacefully resting, Jesus rebukes the wind and sea, calming them instantly. We often leave the story there. Kudos to the disciples who knew where to go for their help; hooray for the Jesus who calms our storms.

That’s not where Jesus left it that day. Once the circumstances settled, He turned to the disciples and asked “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40) There’s a bit of a testy sense of frustration under those words. These disciples were men who had walked with Him. They had seen all that He was capable of doing and had been privy to his motivations and a deeper understanding of His teachings. Yet, they hadn’t learned to look to His actions as a guide for their own. His peace and emotional regulation weren’t yet the model for theirs. They still thought that circumstances were more powerful than He was. God’s love, faithfulness, power, and authority in their lives was still seen through the lens of their perception of His activity in the chaos around them.

They doubted. They denied that His posture of peace was the RIGHT response to the storm, and demanded that He join them in their panic. They were rebuked for it.

Y’all, it’s not easy. The storm gets loud. It turns our world sideways, sometimes in an instant and often due to our own actions. It’s scary. It hurts. It looks like doom. In the middle of it, rather than demanding to know why Jesus isn’t freaking out alongside us, maybe let’s take a breath, check out what His posture is, and join Him in that posture. If He’s at rest, the likelihood is that He knows the outcome will be in our best interest, so we can rest. If He’s at work, then we can actively join Him in working toward the outcome that will be in our best interest.

Bottom line: He is always and ever working things together for our good and His glory. It’s okay to ask Him for answers, but let’s be careful not to doubt His character.