Sleeping in the boat

When I was ten we lived on Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California for a year. We took many, many trips across the Pacific to the mainland during that time. It was a 2 1/2 hour boat ride from the mainland to the island… often the water was beautiful, calm. I would always go to the bow and look over the front of the ferry to watch the dolphins and flying fish racing us. Such a thrill!

Sometimes, the waters would have white-caps and be a little choppy. I would still go to my favorite place on the ferry… the bow. The walls of the bow had grooves that were just perfect for me to fit between and I would slide down to sit on the bow floor and sleep to avoid motion sickness.

I’ve been reading in Mark about the stormy sea and the disciples fearing for their lives in the storm. I shared some thoughts in an earlier post about Jesus sleeping at the stern of the boat.

But, recently I had a thought.

What if the disciples had slept too?

I have to admit…

When a storm is raging around me and I’m smack in the middle of it, the last thing on my mind is sleep.

Yet, that is exactly what Jesus did…

I can’t stop thinking that maybe we should learn from His example?

In Psalm 3, David is in the middle of a storm.
He is on the run from Absalom and his son.
Verses 1-5: O Lord, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.”

But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain.
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.

Look at what Solomon says in Psalm 4:8
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”

Recently we talked about the need to get up and fight on our battlefield.

I’ve been wrestling with this because it is clear in scripture that we are in a battle and are to fight this battle.

If this is true, how can we also sleep in the boat when the storms rage around us?

The storm that rages…
the chaos in our circumstances… it need not shake us.
We can rest and find refuge in our Lord Jesus when the walls are crashing around us.

Our fight is against the schemes of the devil… Our enemy will use the storm to discourage us and that is what we are fighting against – not the circumstances themselves.

There is evidence in scripture over and over again that we can find refuge and rest in the middle of our stormy circumstances.

But how can we sleep in the boat when the storm is crashing around?

In the Psalm above, David found rest because he knew His God.

Psalm 23 is another place we see where rest is to be found… with the Shepherd.

“The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

We must get to KNOW Him.
We can TRUST Him because we KNOW Him.
And, He gives us true rest, deep rest… even with a wild storm about.

How, then, do we get to know Him?

I must learn about Him by learning His story… Read His Word. Listen to music sharing His Word… Talk with others who have a part in His story too and watch how He is working in their lives.

Do you long for sleep in the middle of your storm?
Tell me I’m not the only one.