Devotions

Rev Gav

Confidence

Luke 8:22-23

One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.

Reflect

Jesus decided to set off in a boat to the other side of a lake and the disciples agreed to take him.

Do not be fooled — this lake was and is so huge that it is called the Sea of Galilee. It is eight miles long and thirteen miles wide. Being well below sea level, cold winds blast through gaps in the surrounding high hills on the eastern side and collide with the warm air over the lake. This collision of differing air temperature and pressure creates squalls. The sea, being quite shallow, can get whipped up into a frenzy, and until you have been on the sea in a small boat, it is difficult to imagine how dangerous such a situation can be. It is not a huge rolling swell on which the boat rides up and down, but in a squall on a shallow lake, the wavelengths are short and the amplitudes are high — in other words you get high waves that slam relentlessly into the boat one after another — blam, blam, blam! And on this occasion, while Jesus slept, a huge squall built up and the boat was beginning to be swamped.

The first thing that strikes me about this story is that Jesus’ disciples included very experienced fishermen and boatmen. These guys knew how to read the weather and the water, and somehow they either set off knowing full well that the conditions did not look great, or they were taken by surprise. Either way, as they set off, they were confident that they had the skill and ability to make the crossing.

The second thing that strikes me is that these tough, hardened, and experienced sailors could not cope with the situation — and no doubt they had previously been in many sticky situations. The conditions on this day must have been worse than bad.

Like the disciples, despite our own self-confidence, we all experience situations and circumstances that are beyond our control. Bad stuff happens and there is nothing, in our own strength, that we can do about it. Because of the desperateness of the situation, it can feel like God is asleep, indifferent, or uncaring, however, it is when we come to the end of ourselves that God can begin.

Our culture tells us that we can do anything if only we believe in ourselves. The Christian message is counter-cultural. It says that we can do anything in Jesus Christ for our strength comes from God alone.

Today, whether you feel like your life is in a storm or in a time of calm, consciously put aside your belief in yourself and place your life in God’s hands.

Pray

Holy God
Forgive me when
I have gone solo;
when I have believed in
my own strength and abilities;
and failed to trust in you.
You are the source of
my life and my strength
this day and forever.