Summer is officially here. The kids are out of school and vacation time is on everyone’s minds.
As a kid, my family took a lot of “road trips”. Flying was expensive, so our family of six would pile into our car and take off to explore Arizona and southern California. I always remembered the beginning of the trip and arriving at our destination, but the duration of the trip was always lost on me. The reason for that is because I slept. The whole trip. I would doze off shortly after we got in the car, then wake up when we arrived. We could have taken several detours and been held up in traffic or other road work and I missed the whole thing because I was blissfully sleeping in the back seat.
All those years of blissfully sleeping my way from destination to destination, was an act of faith – I’m calling it Road Trip Faith. As a child it did not necessarily reflect my faith in God, but my faith in the driver – at first my dad, then later as an adult, in Jon. I trusted them to keep me safe so I was able to completely relax knowing that they were in charge.
I think that this is one of the reasons, I connect with the account from Luke 8:22-25.
"One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Prior to this event, Jesus had just finished ministering and was being swamped by people. He needed some space, so he told the disciples to get ready to take a boat to the other side of the lake.
Getting in the boat, Jesus –who was tired from the events of the day – promptly went to sleep. Like me, Jesus must have felt a sense of trust and safety, to allow himself to fall into a peaceful sleep.
The Sea of Galilee is not a huge body of water. The total size is about 8 miles wide x 13 miles long. Even standing on one shore, you can easily see to the other side. The Sea (or really a lake) is nestled among the hills, which make it subject to sudden and violent storms as the wind comes over the eastern mountains and drops suddenly onto the sea.
The disciples, who grew up in the area and before choosing to follow Jesus, had made their living on the Sea of Galilee. They knew it’s shorelines. They knew the best fishing spots. They knew that they had a good sound boat. They knew how to navigate those waters. So, when Jesus mentioned going to the other side, they didn’t hesitate. The weather was good. They knew how to handle a boat. What could happen?
"A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” Matthew 8:23
I find it interesting that these are seasoned fishermen who grew up on this lake. As young boys, they learned to fish from their fathers. Storms were a common occurrence. I would guess that they had survived many storms during their lifetimes. Why was this storm different? What made them panic this time?
My Guess? The presence of Jesus.
You may remember that the disciples had an unrealistic opinion and view of what Jesus – the Messiah – was there to accomplish. Not much has changed in 2000+ years. I’ve heard people say – multiple times - that when they became Christians, they thought all of their troubles would be behind them. In reality, they found that life is still filled with challenges, troubles, tragedies, and disasters.
Being a Christ-Follower doesn’t exempt us from facing the trials of this world, but it does give us other advantages.
The first advantage. He is always with us. We are NEVER alone.
“Surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
The second advantage. He’s in Control.
“Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
As believers we often fall into the trap of thinking that because God is always in control, then nothing bad will ever happen to us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t be more wrong. We live in a fallen world and have the freedom to make decisions that are not always in our best interest. Does that mean that God doesn’t love us? No. But it does mean that even in our poor choices, he is right there with us no matter where we find ourselves.
The third advantage. We can be at peace. Even as Jesus calmed the seas with the words “peace be still” he wants to calm us also. "You will keep him in perfect peace Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3
As a child I had complete confidence in my father to keep me safe and get me to our destination – the evidence of that was my ability to sleep every time I got in the car for a trip.
As an adult, I still have that confidence – I believe the term Road Trip Faith would be applicable here as well. I have complete faith in my heavenly father who loves me unconditionally and has my best interest at heart and will walk with me every step of my journey. Do I have moments where doubt creeps in? Yes! But then I use the lesson from last week and work on taking those thoughts captive because they do not align with what I know about God’s love for me. The evidence of my grown-up faith isn’t sleeping my way through life – even though there are days I want to.
Grown-up faith is in how I live out each day. It's in how I love my girls. It’s there in how I approach my job. It’s there when I’m ministering to my H2O family. It’s there when I talk to and encourage friends and neighbors. It's there when things go wrong. It’s not flashy or big, but quiet and steady.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was quoted as saying that life was a journey, not a destination. A “road trip” if you will.
Here’s something to think about. How is your “Road Trip Faith?” Do you trust God to see you through to your destination? Are you able to completely trust and be at peace on the Journey – or are you worried and stressed about all of the detours and delays along the way?
God is right there with you every step of the journey. So, sit back and let your spirit rest knowing that he’ll never leave you, he’s in control, and he will speak peace to the storms in your life.
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