'Lord, Save Us!'

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’…Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Matthew 8:23-26

Many people think that becoming a Christian and following Christ means a life free from difficulty. The Bible supports the opposite as we will face trials while following Christ. Adversity is the manner is which we sharpen our faith fueling its power. Notice in our chosen passage this morning that the disciples followed Jesus into the boat. ‘Without warning’ indicates that they were caught off guard and anticipated neither the storm’s arrival nor its power. ‘The Sea of Galilee is noted for sudden, violent storms that whip it into a churning froth. Winds sweep down the valley of the Jordan from the north, picking up speed in the narrow gorge. When they hit the Sea, it becomes extremely unsafe for navigation.’ Believer’s Bible Commentary, 1233. It is important to note that Jesus didn’t navigate the boat to shore but rather calmed the waters and continued on the path knowing the tenuous possibilities. He stayed the course regardless of the tendency for life threatening situations to arise. He was committed to staying in the boat regardless of what they would face. This is the same God who is with us in our boat as we charter through our waters.

Growing up a Christian I did the things a Christian should do such as attending church, raising our children in church and serving in various roles. As I maintained a life with God I realize now that I had Him asleep in my heart. Then like the disciples my boat was hit with an encapsulating storm. Our daughter, Kristen began displaying behavior issues soon to be followed by substance abuse. Our journey into darkness went from months to years spanning a total of eight long heartbreaking years. At 15 she left home in search of something that even she didn’t understand which ended in heroin addiction. In preparing to speak to a group of parents of troubled teens I reflected on some of the moments of our journey which represents a snapshot of our suffering. I wrote the following.

'Typically, when our children are young we are involved in a wonderful community called family. Enjoying the affection of our children, the exchange of Christmas gifts, celebrations of birthdays and fellowship of other families at church are just a few of the wonderful memories made and experienced. But somewhere along the way ours went wrong and these happy events became cracks in the pavement of my heart. Seeing a new baby brought me grief for it was a reminder that something horribly had gone wrong with my baby. A joyful Christmas morning was replaced with grief and fear as I saw the unopened gifts under the tree wondering if my daughter was still alive. A prepared celebration of her 18th birthday was replaced with my 13 and 10 year old comforting me when she didn’t show as they were trying to be surrogates for my prodigal. The most painful of all was facing my church family and watching the seemingly perfect teens which only highlighted that an evil war had been waged against my daughter. I wanted desperately to be anonymous and invisible everywhere I went. I allowed these heartbreaks to both wound me and define me until year 6 of my 8 year ordeal at which point I was drowning in my own despair.'

I knew I could no longer fight this storm of my daughter’s drug addiction and had to lay my Isaac down – my arms were too tired. It was at that point that I ran to Christ and woke Him begging Him to keep me from drowning. When I finally surrendered Kristen to God the storm didn’t calm but my heart did. I had peace apart from resolution for the next two years. Following that time Kristen returned to her life in Christ and gave up her life of darkness. Then one day I looked up at the horizon and noticed that not only was my heart calm but the waters had been rebuked and the waves had ceased to churn. '...and it was completely calm.’

If you are in the boat with Jesus, anticipate storms but expect deliverance!