Jesus Christ Amid Life's Constant Storms

-

The Sea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesaret is nestled among the hills in the northern Israel. It is nearly 700 feet below sea level. It measures 21 kilometers north-south. In some places of the lake it goes down to only 43 meters deep. It is relatively small and shallow.

The sea's geography subjects the lake to sudden and even violent storms. That happens when cool air from the mountains on the eastside blows downward towards the lake and pushes the warm air covering the lake upwards. The sudden change can produce surprisingly furious storms in a short time. Also, because the lake is small and shallow the confluence of cold and warm air produces strong waves.

In Capernaum, a fishing village by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus healed many people like the centurion's servant and Peter's mother-in-law. In the evening, he healed many sick people and exorcised people possessed with demons. When a large crowd was gathering, he ordered the disciples to cross the other side of the lake. When they were halfway through the lake, a sudden storm developed.

In Matthew 8: 23 - 27, the account goes like this: "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!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the wave, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him."

Jesus probably knew that violent storms occur frequently in the Sea of Galilee yet he was relaxed and he even fell asleep. Probably, because he needed to rest from all of the healing he had done. Halfway through the lake, a sudden storm broke out. His disciples woke him up. Though they were expert fishermen and boats men, Jesus noticed that they were totally scared. 

Also, Jesus was probably not happy when the disciples woke him up. Aren't we all when someone cuts our sleep short? When he was up, I suspect that he meant to say to them, "Look I'm here and I got you all so don't be scared!" 

On that day, Jesus taught his disciples to have faith in him especially in tight situations. He showed them the way to handle fear - through faith. Although, the disciples were clueless as to his true nature.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic which started last year and is still raging, everyone is fearful. We fear that we and our family might catch the virus. We fear that our personal plans might be derailed by virus. We fear of its harmful effect on the population and the economy. 

We are besieged with bad news after bad news because of Covid-19. Especially, about the news that the virus mutates in different variants and becomes more and more transmissible. We ask ourselves, "When is it going to end?" 

Our once normal lives have been disrupted just like the sudden and violent storms in the Sea of Galilee. We share the same feeling of fear with the disciples on that stormy night at the lake.

In the story of Jesus calming the storm, he reminds us not to fear from life's constant storms because he's always there to calm them down. He also reminds us to calm down our inner fears through faith. Jesus has spoken so many times in the gospels never to shrink in fear. 

His message in handling fear resonated even when he was not around. The apostle Paul wrote a letter to his disciple Timothy, something to that effect. In 2 Timothy 1:7 he wrote, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power; and of love; and of a sound mind." I used the King James version because it is more succinct.

Fear can sometimes be debilitating and tormenting. But when we have a sound mind tamed from fear, we do the right things and not crazy things. When we do the right things we produce the right results. 

An overloaded ship in a rough storm will surely sink. A wise captain would order the throwing of excess stuff overboard to remain afloat. Our sins and idols that are storms in our soul often weigh us down. It would be wise to throw them all away and travel light with Jesus and with peace in our soul. 

As captains of our soul, that is another right thing to do on top of facing our fears. That will surely help us to weather life's constant storms including this pandemic.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Seventies - The "Disco" Era

-
Image
The seventies was undoubtedly the "disco" era.  As a teenager, I listened and danced to the distinct sound of that era. When "Saturday Night Fever" hit the movie theaters in 1978,  I became an avid fan of the Bee Gees and other bands that played the disco sound.   Besides listening to disco sound, I also mimicked dance steps like the "swing" and "L.A. shuffle" from a local popular TV show the "Penthouse Seven." I strutted my stuff every time  I danced with a partner at birthday parties held in friends' residences. Bands that dished out disco tunes during the '70s were  ABBA  with their  song "Dancing Queen";   Donna Summer 's   goosebumps-raising song "Last Dance."  Other bands like  KC and the Sunshine Band ,  The Trammps ,  Van McCoy ,  Gloria Gaynor ,  The Village People ,  Chic , and  The Jacksons   also flooded the radio airwaves in the '70s .   I even followed their progress over...
Read more

Grandfather@50

-
Image
I will be turning 50 before the  end of this year, and what better way to usher in my golden boy status is becoming a bonafide grandfather.  I now have a grandson, his name is Samien. He was born on April 25, 2012. His parents say that the name means "to be heard".  I guess their choice was right because when Samien cries, he is really heard by everybody. I noticed remarkable things in Samien.  While just a new born, he showed to us that he has strong legs and arms.  He can push himself upwards in the crib and was tireless in raising his small arms every  now and then.  Also, he is not the quiet type because he always cries and laughs unlike other babies inside the nursery who are peacefully asleep.  At three months old, he speaks amusing although unintelligible syllables.  Also, at three months, he is rather long for babies his age and quite heavy for a three month old baby.  He weighed in at 5 kilogram during his visit to his pedia...
Read more

Organic Rice in the Philippines For Healthy Living

-
Image
Do you prefer healthy living? Go organic rice! Health buffs would like to get their hands on real organic rice. If you're one of them, do you know which ones are authentic organic rice? This blog will tell you all you need to know about organic rice. Some people think that organic rice is red and brown rice variety only.  Not really. It comes in other varieties and colors such as white, black, etc.  The idea that red and brown alone are organic rice is wrong.  These rice varieties are now sold under specific brands in leading supermarkets in the Philippines, however, not all of them are organic rice. But how will you know if you're buying organic rice or not? Organic rice is farmed without using synthetic fertilizer and chemical pesticide inputs. Besides the inputs, there are other things to consider such as -  How was it planted? What were the farming methods used? Was there contamination along the supply chain until it has reached the end consumer? There...
Read more