Quote from Forum Archives on July 21, 2002, 6:54 pm

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

MY BOAT’S TOO SMALL
July 21, 2002
Text: Mark 4:35-41

Because Israel’s commerce and ties with other parts of their world tended
to be overland, there are not a lot of Scriptures that have the sea as
their setting. But when the setting of a Bible story involves a body of
water, it also tends to include a storm at sea. Check it out. When Jonah
hopped a boat to run away from God’s requirements, a storm at sea raged
until he was thrown overboard. When Paul was being taken back to Rome, he
warned the master of the ship they were boarding not to set sail until
later in the year. The ship’s master ignored him, and they ran right into
a storm that resulted in the destruction of the ship and cargo. Jesus and
his disciples take a little excursion across the Sea of Galilee, a large
lake in northern Israel, and - we can easily guess - “a furious squall
came up.”

It has been said, and I tend to agree, that Jewish stories about the sea
often contains imagery of storms because they recognize their inability
to contain the sea and storm. Thus, storms at sea become a metaphor about
life. The Jews of Jesus’ day, like almost every people who lived before
and after them, sought a sense of stability. They wanted dependability
and stability from the world and others day in and day out. In their
minds, they wanted life to be like the firm ground and mountains around
them. They wanted to wake every day and know that their efforts, if they
were good and God-pleasing, would be rewarded. They wanted to know that
those who broke the laws of God or man would be punished according to
their system of justice. They wanted a world in which everything makes
sense; where hard work and dedication pays off; where good people are
treated fairly; and where bad people receive the just fruits of their bad
behavior. Well, don’t we all?

Jesus’ disciples were no different. Their worldview and outlook was no
different than most of their fellow citizens. There they were, on top of
the world as they stood with Jesus performing miracles, raising the dead,
rebuking unjust leadership. They were rubbing shoulders with the top guy;
they were on the inside track. Then, before they knew it, came the slam
dunk. Their ability to perform a miracle would fail them, or they would
be faced with more than 5,000 hungry followers, or Jesus would get
arrested. Their solid world of mighty mountains would wither into the
chaos of a storm at sea.

This is the case before us today. Jesus tells his disciples they are
going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Before this trip, they
have been involved in some remarkably successful ministries. There have
been healings; there have been teachings; there have been confrontations.
Jesus’ reputation is spreading, and his following is growing. The
disciples are right there with him, and they’re liking what they see.
Man, life is great!

Then they set sail, and Jesus decides to take a nap. Hey, some of these
guys are fisherman and they’ve been across these waters a thousand times.
What a perfect opportunity to catch a little shut-eye. However, as they
crossed this unstable foundation of water, “a furious squall came up, and
the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.” A squall?
This doesn’t sound like a mere squall to me! Waves were breaking over the
boat! They were going to sink! This weren’t no squall; this was a storm.
Other translations call it a “great storm” or a “fierce storm.” That’s
more like it! This was a storm that endangered their boat and their
lives.

Ohhh, now it may be true that in a strict meteorological sense this
particular atmospheric disturbance only qualifies as a squall. But they
weren’t in that big a boat, either. In my opinion, anything that
threatens your boat and your life is a storm! In fact, it may not even
have to threaten your life in order for it to be considered a storm to
you. About two or three days before pulling into a port in southern Spain
for Christmas, the ship on which I was deployed was hit by a storm. We
were tossed about in every direction. The ship rolled from side to side
with some big angles. Even worse, the ship pitched lengthwise as the bow
would be thrown out of the water and then come crashing back down,
followed by the stern doing the same thing. That’s the motion that does
in some of the heartiest sailors with experienced sea legs. Imagine
riding a roller coaster with no opportunity to get off as one moment it
plunges down the track and then in the next moment it presses you against
the back of the seat as it heads back up the track for another drop.
Although the angles are not as steep and the speeds not as intense,
that’s the feeling you get over and over and over as the ship is tossed
about. Except for the absolute necessities of keeping the ship afloat and
cleaning up the things that kept crashing down around us, nothing was
accomplished by either the ship’s crew or embarked Marines. It is amazing
how empty a full ship can look when about all anyone can do is lay in
their bunk and try to hang on.

Well, we made it through that storm and enjoyed a much more peaceful
Christmas in port. By the time we were to get underway again, the weather
had cleared nicely. We had, as we normally did in port, some transition
with the crew. Those who were scheduled for transfers had flown back to
the States, and those who were scheduled to report had arrived at the
ship. One of our new crew members was assigned to the medical department
in the dental division. He was a young, new sailor reporting to his first
ship at sea.

The day we left port was remarkably beautiful weather-wise. Clear, sunny
skies, gentle breeze, calm seas. Even as we left the protected area of
the port and headed once more into the open Mediterranean Sea, the only
motion felt besides the vibrations of the ship’s engines was a slight
roll of the ship. The Sea was about as calm and flat as it could be.
Certainly a far different day than our previous approach to the port.
Yet, only a short time after getting underway, my friend the Dental
Officer came and told me that his new dental technician was horribly sick
and had asked if “it was always this bad.” Oh sure, we laughed our heads
off at that. We knew that while the sea state couldn’t get much better,
it could certainly get much worse.

As I reflect on my own experiences at sea within the context of this
Scripture, I recognize that the “new guy” was still experiencing a storm.
I’m fairly certain that the “furious squall” the disciples ran into could
not match a storm on the oceans. But, it was still a storm. And, since
their boat was so small, it was a storm that appeared to threaten their
lives.

At this point, then, they awakened Jesus. “Teacher, don’t you care if we
drown?” They needed some help. I’m not sure what they had in mind for
Jesus to do. I think that they thought that at least here was another
person to help them bail. I don’t think they expected Jesus to do what he
did, because they later asked among themselves, “Who is this? Even the
wind and waves obey him!” To Jesus, though, the “furious squall” was not
a problem. “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be
still!’”

“Oh, if only it was that easy to calm the storms of life,” we probably
often think. Why can’t I still a storm with just a command like that? The
disciples seemed to have thought the same thing, for Jesus asked, “Why
are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Poor disciples. First,
they were so afraid of being drowned because their small boat was being
swamped, and now they were terrified of the one who calmed the storm
because their small faith was being swamped.

Yes, poor disciples. Yet, are we any different? Don’t we, like the
disciples, have some pretty small boats of faith? Has not Jesus taught us
how to face the storms of life? Try Matthew 6:31-34... “So do not worry,
saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we
wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly
Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Or how about the lessons
of Jesus’ followers? Take Philippians 4:10-13, for instance… “I rejoice
greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me.
Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I
am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content
whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in
any and every situation, whether well fed or in want. I can do everything
through him who gives me strength.”

In order to face the storms successfully, Jesus tells us that we need a
bigger boat of faith. We are going to have to face some storms; we cannot
avoid them all. No matter how well prepared we are, some storm at
sometime is going to get us. I don’t even know anyone who is going to
have to face just one storm. Storms happen, just like on the Sea of
Galilee or the Mediterranean Sea or the ocean. Some storms will come when
everything looks calm to everyone else, and some storms will stir
everything else up around us.

No matter how they come, and no matter how big they are, we must face
them, deal with them, and endure them. We do that most successfully with
faith. Such was Jesus’ point to his disciples. In both our physical and
spiritual lives, our faith in God saves us, sustains us, and powers us.
When all seems to go from calm to chaos, the best way to overcome it is
to regain the calm. Things may never be the same as they were before, and
it may be a different type of calm, but we can nevertheless succeed as we
activate our faith in God. Faith in the time of storm means that we act
upon the belief that God is bigger than the problems we face. First, we
call upon Him! If we have been preparing spiritually, then calling upon
the Lord is neither unusual nor hypocritical. Our faith is in Him.

Second, we listen to his three little words, “Quiet! Be still!” He speaks
that not only to the storm but to us as well. More often than not, the
first thing to do to face the crisis is for us to calm down. Christians
have the advantage of allowing Jesus to calm us down. “Quiet! Be still!”

Third, listen for and apply His answers in order to survive the storm.
Facing any storm can be a challenge, and successfully surviving it can
require tough actions. It may require giving up an obvious, but
long-standing sin. Surviving the storm may require the Biblically
correct, but hard to do, task of forgiveness. It is hardly ever easy to
forgive someone who has done serious harm to us, but not forgiving often
leads to the fiercest storms of all: bitterness, hatred, vengefulness,
isolation, desolation, and despondency. Those can be tough ones to
overcome. Surviving the storm may require a humbling of self and the
frequently embarrassing task of seeking forgiveness from someone who has
been wronged. All of these, and many more, are readily available
solutions from God as we seek His protection from the storm.

More than anything else, though, Jesus wants us to remember where the
source of our strength to endure any storm comes from. Many Bible
lessons, especially those designed for young children, will teach the
theme of “overcoming fear.” In light of these verses, I think that such
lessons are not completely accurate. In some places, such as this, the
Bible does not teach us to overcome fear; it teaches us to replace the
object of our fear. In the final verse of this account, we read that the
disciples “…were terrified…” Isn’t that an intriguing revelation? Just
moments before, they were fearful of sinking and drowning. Now, instead
of a life-threatening storm, it is “completely calm.” Yet, the Bible
tells us that the disciples were still terrified; perhaps, even more than
before.

The important lesson here, though, is that the object of the disciples’
fears have changed. Before, they were afraid of a “furious squall.” Now,
however, they are “terrified” of Jesus. “Who is this?” Well, having a
fear of the Lord is a completely Biblical concept. In fact, the
Scriptures encourage such an attitude: “His pleasure is not in the
strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the Lord
delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing
love.” (Psalm 147:10-11) As one Bible scholar has written, “If a man fear
[God], what else need he fear?” (E. C. Blackman, “Faith,” The
Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962,
p. 227)

When we fear God enough to put first His love for us, His saving work in
Christ, and His commands for thankful living, then we will discover quite
enough faith to be able to displace our fears of the storms that rage
around us. We will discover that as we seek first the kingdom of God, we
will have less and less to fear from the storms that we think are so big.
We will discover that when we hear the Lord say to the waves, “Quiet! Be
still!”, we will also find that our panic-stricken hearts and souls are
also quieted by the sound of his voice and ministry of love. Yes, even
when our boat of faith seems a lot smaller than the storms raging around
us, our Lord Jesus is still more than big enough to rebuke the wind and
flatten the waves and calm any other storms, large or small, that rage in
our lives.

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

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