JESUS OUR ANCHOR
This week, storm Ida blasted through New York and New Jersey, wreaked havoc in its track and turned neighbourhood streets and subways into raging rivers. Social media was flooded with images of the devastation caused by the historic storm that upended all kinds of travel, created homelessness for many and drowned several in their homes. The suddenness of the storm had caught people off-guard, and severely tested the safety and adequacy of housing and public infrastructures.
It’s hard to know how we will respond when the storms of life take us by surprise. One thing for sure, Jesus had prepared us with this warning that is also an encouragement: “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b). We can easily feel lost, disheartened and inadequate when storms expose our deepest fears and test our faith in God. People whom we thought would be there for us may fall silent or disappear altogether, and we ask ourselves, “Don’t they care?”.
In fact, Jesus’s disciples had the same thought about Him. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38b).
The Bible recorded in verses 35-41 that Jesus and His disciples had taken a night trip across a lake, something that was usually uneventful till they met a sudden and turbulent storm. While they were tossed and thrown in every direction by the squall with their survival hanging by a thread, Jesus remained uncharacteristically quiet and uninvolved till they roused Him from his sleep.
While they were looking to Jesus for quick answers, He wanted them to trust Him as the Anchor in their storm. The unexpected timing and force of the squall had provided just the right conditions to test the disciple’s faith and take it to a new level.
Next, in one stroke, the Lord commanded the storm to be still and there was complete calmness. Then, He asked the disciples who were in the boat with Him, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (v40). It’s the same question He would ask us when we experience the storms of life that sneak up on us.
The Bible reminds us that God will test and strengthen our faith in Him through all kinds of storms (James 1:2-4). But we will not be left alone. Note that Jesus experienced the storm with His disciples though they fought it with fear. He was in the same boat with them throughout. In all likelihood, they were doing all they could to grab the guardrails or whatever structure that kept them attached to the boat and not be swung off-board by the storm. On a human level, they probably wondered why Jesus was not doing the same or showing them a better survival technique.
Sometimes, storms can throw us off-kilter because of our inability to detect the signs of its coming and be ready for them. Instinctively, we reach out to those closest to us like guardrails to help us get back on an even keel. We may even cling onto achievements and accolades in the hope that they will give us the mental strength to weather another storm. While these may give us momentary support and strength, what we truly need during a storm is to trust Jesus as a solid and permanent Anchor who knows exactly what we are going through. He is our hope, a firm and secure anchor for our soul (Hebrews 6:19a).
Know that Jesus is always in the same boat with you, journeying with you through all the seasons of your life. He is not a detached observer who is powerless to change you or your circumstances. However, He wants us to anchor our faith in Him and to be sure of three infallible truths when we face our personal storms:
Jesus is not asleep – No one can possibly love or care about us more than Jesus who laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16). He is more concerned about the condition of our faith than the condition of the storms that we encounter. Even when we do not get the results or response that we want from Him, even when we feel isolated in our time of need, He is never asleep during our storms. Never.
Jesus is in control – When we don’t get solutions at the speed we want, we can be quick to conclude that Jesus is slowing down or that His skin is not in the game, so to speak. We must remember that just as His disciples had found Him in the stern during the storm, where He remained close to the rudder that steered the boat, we can similarly trust Him to remain in the centre of control to pivot our life course through all storms that come our way.
Jesus is in authority – After the storm died down, the disciples turned from being fearful of the storm to being terrified of Jesus’ power to subdue the wind and the waves with the simple words, “Quiet! Be still.” Not some arcane utterances like abracadabra! Jesus literally muzzled and silenced the storm as one would muzzle and silence a barking dog. His power and victory over all adversities is encapsulated in one statement: “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).
Proverbs 10:25 (NLT) offers a word of encouragement to us for trusting Jesus as our Anchor: “When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.”
Storms can be terrifying and intimidating. But that’s not the only reality, even if it is the only visible reality before us. Christ, the Anchor of our faith, is a greater counterforce who is in the storm with us. Always.
