Who could blame the disciples? Here they are, on a little boat, Jesus asleep, and a violent storm whips up. They are scared out of their minds, thinking that they’re going to die.
As the boat was being swamped by the waves, they wake Jesus up. The Gospel writer Matthew writes (8:23-27) that the men shout, “Lord save us! We are perishing!” Jesus, being the Person that He is, was not amused. They just don’t get it, He probably thought to Himself. First, He rebuked them for not having faith. Then, He rebuked the wind and the sea, and everything instantly calmed down.
Most of the time, I think we’re just like those disciples on the boat.
We usually focus on worst possible scenario in just about every situation we find ourselves in. I guess that’s human nature. But those of us who believe in God are called to have a different world view.
Sometimes, things happen for a reason. Sometimes, there’s a greater good that comes out of tough and disparate situations. Sometimes, we just have to trust that God has a plan, and His ways are not always our ways.
For the last six months or so, I’ve seen myself falling into this trap of consistently assuming the worst in just about every situation I’m in. In my prayer, I wonder if Jesus is asleep, not able to hear what I’m saying, not interested in helping me because He’s working on bigger things. In talking with many of my friends recently, they share these feelings of hopelessness.
But in the end, we have to put our trust in God. He’s not asleep. He’s not uninterested. He sometimes allows difficult situations to occur in our lives so that, in our freedom, we can choose to trust Him. How often have we been through tough times, only to become more prayerful, more caring, more focused on the important things in life?
Maybe we find ourselves in terrible situations so that, when they’re over, we too, like the disciples on the boat, can say with amazement, who is this that even the wind and the sea obey?
I think the time has come to change our perspective. Let’s start assuming the best about the situations we find ourselves in. Focusing on the positive, rather than the negative, will help us be happier and more productive.
Is there a situation in your life that you’ve focused more on the negative? Have you assumed the worst? How can you turn this around?
