In the Boat with Jesus: Learning to Trust in the Storm

The other day, when I was doing the laundry, my two-year-old son came in and wanted to play. He does this thing where he likes to pretend that the laundry tub is a boat. I pick him up in the tub and shake him around, and he absolutely loves it.

As I was playing with him, it reminded me of the passage in Mark 4 where Jesus, in verses 35 to 41, was initially asleep and was woken up by his disciples to calm the wind and waves with a command.

Unlike the disciples, my son didn’t care about how rough I was because he knew that I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him, and there’s a lot we can learn from this as Christians.

Worry is something that is relatable to all of us. At some point in our lives, we all know what it is like to experience fear about what lies ahead in the future. From time to time, we experience situations and circumstances that are completely out of our control. We want to be in control but, more often than not, there is little we can do about it.

For those who aren’t aware, there’s a strong likelihood that if I don’t get a job in time, I’ll be made redundant as my contract comes to an end with no funding in place (the joys of academia). It’s been a really testing time, and I’ve really had to lean on the Lord and trust that he knows what will happen, even when I don’t see the outcome.

The passage we saw earlier with Jesus in the boat is just one example of why we shouldn’t worry. God is in control, and he commands us not to worry – something that is repeated on several occasions (e.g. Matthew 6:25–34, Luke 12:22–34).

So when we face challenging situations that cause us to worry, we can turn to prayer, as Philippians 4:6–7 instructs us to. Why? 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Now, I still don’t know what the outcome will be regarding my job, but what I do know is that the Lord is faithful, he cares for us, and he will provide for us and meet all our deepest needs.