When Jesus is Asleep in Our Boat
Don't mistake the apparent inactivity of God as the indifference of God
After a demanding day of ministry, Jesus and his disciples climb into a boat to cross to the other side of a lake. However, Jesus, worn out from all his teaching, healing, and casting out demons, decides to catch a nap during their voyage. Jesus locates a cushion and falls asleep at the stern of the boat.
Can you picture this scene in your mind? Here we have the creator of all life, the God-man Jesus, overwhelmed with exhaustion. Jesus, in his humanity, does not just find a small corner in the back of the boat with a cushion to doze off for a quick power nap. Instead, as we will see from our story in a few minutes, sleep overtakes him so that even a fierce storm at sea can not awaken him from his slumber.
The Disciples in a Storm
As Jesus was sleeping, the story took a drastic turn. Suddenly, the weather changed as a fierce windstorm arose on the lake. This was no gentle breeze or even some tiny gust of wind. Instead, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all describe this windstorm as violent, fierce, and dangerous. In Matthew's account of the story, he uses the same Greek word to describe the force of an earthquake.
The winds were so ferocious that the waves broke into the boat, thus filling the ship with water. The storm's intensity and the vessel filling with water created an immediate fear among the disciples. Sensing impending danger, the disciples turned to Jesus and woke him up, saying, "Save us Lord; we are perishing!" (Matthew 8:25; Luke 8:24).
Jesus woke up, rebuked the winds, and spoke to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" (Mark 4:39). Immediately, there was a great calm.
Jesus' Response to the Disciples
Next, Jesus turned to the disciples and asked them, "Why were you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" (Mark 4:40).
Honestly, Jesus' response has always bothered me a bit.
Jesus asked his disciples, "Why are you so afraid?" Really, Jesus? Maybe it was because their boat was about to sink amid a massive storm, and they might die.
Aren't we supposed to cry out to Jesus when we need him? When David was hiding out in a cave from King Saul, the man after God's own heart prayed, "To the LORD I cry out; to the LORD I plead for mercy. I pour out my lament before him; I tell him about my troubles" (Psalm 142:1–2, NET). Aren’t we supposed to run to him in times of trouble as Psalm 86:7 says, "In my time of trouble I cry out to you, for you will answer me"?
So I used to wonder why Jesus questioned his followers for their little faith and being fearful.
This story is recorded in three Gospel accounts (Matthew 8:23–27, Luke 8:22–25, and Mark 4:35–41). Perhaps, I was most familiar with the story from Matthew and Luke's account. However, Mark's retelling of the story adds an interesting detail. Immediately after the disciples woke Jesus up from his sleep and before asking him to save them, the disciples made another statement. The disciples' first statement to Jesus was, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" (Mark 4:38).
Did you catch that?
The disciples were wrestling with a question: Did Jesus genuinely care about them?
But why? Why would the disciples struggle with questioning Jesus' concern for them? Because in their minds, they were about to perish, and Jesus wasn't intervening.
They were in a huge mess! Their ship was about to sink, they were about to drown, and Jesus wasn't helping them. In fact, Jesus was asleep on them! Therefore, the disciples concluded that Jesus did not care since something bad was happening, and he wasn’t stopping it.
The disciples equated the apparent inactivity of God with the apathy of God.
When Jesus is Asleep in Our Boat
We have all experienced it before . . . when all of a sudden, life changes. Life can change in a moment. Out of nowhere, violent storms assault us, and calamity fills our lives. We become fearful of the potential outcomes that lie before us. So we do what the disciples did, what David did, what Paul did, and what believers for 2000 years have done. We cry out to Jesus for help.
Sometimes, God seems to act immediately. A solution appears, the circumstances change, he lifts us out of the pit, or a miracle occurs.
Sometimes . . . nothing. Nothing happens. The winds grow more powerful, and more water fills our boat. The fear of perishing attacks our minds. Sometimes, it seems that Jesus is asleep in our boat.
We cry out to God. We try to wake him. We plead with him. But it doesn't seem as if the Almighty is doing anything.
Does Jesus care about me? If he does care, then why the heck is he not doing something?
We mistakingly believe what the disciples felt on the sea that day: that the apparent inactivity of God in our lives means that God is indifferent to us. God doesn't care because he is not changing my circumstances. I am about to drown, and Jesus isn't doing anything about it.
Jesus' Two Questions
After waking up and being accused of not caring, Jesus rebuked the fierce winds and told the sea to calm down. Immediately the wind stopped, and complete peace came over the waters.
Jesus then turned to the disciples and asked them two questions.
First, Jesus asked them, "Why are you so afraid?" (Mark 4:37). I have never been in a physical storm like the disciples encountered that day. But I have experienced a shipwreck, metaphorically speaking. And as I was in the waters feeling like I was about to drown, I cried out for God to rescue and restore me. Yet, in my cries, it seemed that God was not responding. You see, sometimes in the storms of life, our experience is more often like that of David, whose thoughts were, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me?" (Psalms 22:1).
We feel afraid when we are all alone. The disciples felt abandoned in that boat. Yet remember this, where was God during the storm? He was right there in the boat with them. Jesus was in the fierce winds and massive waves with his disciples. The disciples' expectations of what Jesus should do for them were not immediately fulfilled; however, Jesus was still with them. God is always where suffering is.
Interestingly, David also wrote some compelling words in Psalms 23. David declared, "Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me" (v. 4, NET Bible).
During a prolonged wilderness experience, I was taking a walk and desperately pleading with God. I had been betrayed and felt, like Joseph, I had been thrown into a deep pit. I earnestly begged God to come by my pit and pull me out. After several minutes of crying out to God to come and rescue me, I had this internal conversation. I told Jesus, “You are not going to walk by and pull me out of this pit, are you?” Then in my spirit, I felt Jesus reply, “No, I can’t walk by the pit because I am in the pit with you, and we are going to make it.”
The presence of God in our lives eclipses fear. God does not always fit within our expectations of how and when he should work, but He is always with us! So when we must walk through the darkest valleys, we must continually remind ourselves that God is with us.
Second, Jesus asked the disciples, "Where is your faith?" (Luke 8:25). Dallas Willard states that "faith is simply reliance upon something in both attitude and action."
By asking the question, Jesus wanted his disciples to reflect on where they placed their trust and confidence.
Realize this: God was not the cause of their distress. He was not the agent being the fierce winds or the chaotic waters. Jesus rebuked the winds and commanded the waters. The winds were not from God. God doesn't do evil.
Yet as Dallas Willard again writes, "Often God allows us to reach the point of desperation so we can learn how to trust."
Like the disciples in the boat, we must learn to trust God in our moment of need. We cling to Jesus. Why? Because Jesus does care. He cares for us beyond our comprehension.
So when the fierce winds blow against us and the waves of fear and anxiety crash upon us, don't mistake the apparent inactivity of God as his indifference to you. Instead, remember this: "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7, NLT).
We can put our reliance and confidence in God because he loves and cares about us.
(Note: Please let me know your thoughts, and please share if you know anyone that would be blessed to read these words. Thanks!)
Excellent thoughts, Craig. I think there is some part of us that longs for God to remove every burden and hardship. When He doesn't, we can't help but start to wonder about whether he cares for us or not...is aware or not ... you reminded us that He is right there with us. No one likes to go through hardship or be afraid, but it is something we all experience. We can do it with or without Him... but how much more frightening is it to face our fears without Him? I'll stick with Him, even when I have questions.
I'm deeply grateful for this most encouraging article. It reminds me of one word that speaks volumes of His love: PRESENCE