A Big Man In A Little Boat

From the insistence of Angie I bought Zach The Jesus Storybook Bible. I can only think of one word to describe this book. Wow. This book has touched me in ways I would have never expected from a children's book.

Angie actually wrote a post on this about this time last year. I urge you to go read. She writes far more beautifully than I could ever hope to.

In this book they put the point of what you are reading so simply that it just becomes so clear! I feel like when I read it that its stuff that I was already aware of, but until I read it "dummed down" I didn't really know it. I was reading in it yesterday and came across a story that made me put the book down and spend a few minutes at my Father's feet.

(Just as a side note...is that not a beautiful image? To be kneeling at the Holy nail scarred feet of the one who gave his life for us? To me, its an image that is just so humbling like that's exactly where I'm supposed to be...)

Any who, back to the original post...

It's a story that I have read a million times. I had it pounded into my head at Sunday School for years. But I haven't thought of it this way before. It is the story of Jesus calming the storm. It says this in the book:

The fishing boat was blown and buffeted and tossed and turned-back and forth and up and down and left and right and round and round!

And in the middle of the storm, Jesus slept.

Now Jesus' friends had been fisherman all their lives, but in all their years of fishing on this lake they have never seen a storm like this one. No matter how hard they struggled they couldn't control their boat. This storm was to big for them.

But the storm wasn't to big for Jesus.

"HELP!" they screamed. "Wake up!" "Quick, Jesus!" Jesus opened his eyes. Jesus stood up and spoke to the storm.

"HUSH" he said. That's all.

And the strangest thing happened... The winds recognized Jesus' voice. Immediately the wind stoped. The little boat bobbed gently up and down.

Then Jesus turned to his wind torn friends. "Why were you scared?" "Did you forget who I am?" "Did you believe your fears instead of me?"

Jesus' friends had been so afraid, they had only seen the big waves. They had forgotten that, if Jesus was with them, they had nothing to be afraid of.

No matter how small their boat-or how big the storm.

Wow.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I focused on the storms of my life, and forgot that if Jesus was with me I had nothing to fear.

It's almost as though I can hear my Lord say:

Jennifer, why do you focus on the waves? My child have you forgotten who I am, and what I can do

No matter what type of storm you may be going through right now, we serve a God that no storm is to big for. He is with you, and you have nothing to fear.

Tonight I choose to rest in the presence of a Lord that can speak and calm the storm.