The engine would not start. We had motored on John and Beth’s boat to the middle of Lake Sinclair to see the beautiful sunset. John cut the engine so we could enjoy the solitude and grandeur of that moment when the sun sinks just beyond the horizon. As darkness fell and it was time to return to shore, John turned the ignition. But the boat engine was grinding—trying but failing to start. Thankfully the darkness hid my ever-creeping worry and nervousness. But John, the skipper, was the master of calm.
Although our boating experience that day did not involve a storm, I can relate to the disciples’ worries. Their boat ride was Jesus’s idea, and now he was sleeping through a tremendous storm. Doesn’t He care that they could die? But Jesus was the ultimate master of calm. As the God of all creation, He had command of the winds and the waves. He has command of all things that make us anxious, and He is all powerful.
In Jesus’s faith challenge to the disciples, He seems to ask two questions:
· Don’t you know who I am?
· Don’t you know I am with you?
Jesus was in the boat the entire time, and the disciples were with Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we can experience both the mighty power and presence of the living God. In times of worry and nervousness, that realization should calm our every fear.