We just put the last of our family members on an airplane back to California, officially ending Baldwin Family Beach Week – 2024. It was a great week filled with beach activities. I was sorting through the photos on my phone and came across evidence of swimming, surfing, boogie-boarding, body-surfing, fishing, kayaking, clamming, walking, dancing, eating, sun-bathing, bicycling, go-kart racing, ice-cream licking and napping on the porch.
One of our outings involved kayaking and fishing in the sound near Wrightsville Beach. As we unloaded kayaks from the truck and prepared to slide them into the water, some wise-guy in our group started singing the theme from the old television show, Gilligan’s Island. On the show, a “three-hour cruise” turned into a multi-year adventure and a multi-episode series after a storm sent their cruise ship off course and caused them to shipwreck on a deserted island. We watched the storm clouds carefully, in case we needed to make a mad dash back to shore!
Jesus and his disciples got caught up in one of those quick flare-up storms that could have proven disastrous. Almost without warning, a “furious squall” swept across the Sea of Galilee, creating huge waves that spilled over into the boat. The disciples fought frantically to keep the boat upright while baling water at the same time. Throughout the drama, Jesus was sound asleep in the back of the boat. You can sense the frustration in the disciples’ plea to Jesus, “Don’t you care if we drown?”
I have to admit that it does seem odd that Jesus slept through the crisis. Was his sleep an indication of unconcern, as the disciples accused? Or was it a sleep of denial, unwilling to accept the very real danger at hand? Or was it a sleep of helplessness, acknowledging the storm was beyond his control?
In the gospels we read that Jesus spoke a word and everything calmed down. He was able to sleep because he had confidence that all would be well. He asks his companions in the boat, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40) When we have faith, we can rest in the assurance that God is in control.
Even if we are in the middle of a storm.
-Dr. Jim Baldwin
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