The Other Side

How will you face the storms of life?

When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” If I had been one of those disciples, I would have known better than to get in that boat. No, I cannot predict the future, but I can—I think—learn from the past.

After my freshman year in college, a good friend who was graduating from high school, invited me on a fishing trip. I thought it sounded fun, so I went. Ten of us made our way from Vestavia Hills, Alabama to Nags Head, North Carolina. And, my friend’s uncle had spared no expense. We stayed in a lavish beach house, played on top-of-the-line jet skis, and took out two fully rigged deep sea fishing boats—five in one and five in the other.

The morning of our fishing expedition I slept through my first alarm. It may not sound like a big deal, but it meant that I had passed the window when I could effectively take any motion sickness medicine. Now, I bet you know where this story is going, but I couldn’t at the time. So, I got on the vessel to travel a hundred miles out into the Atlantic Ocean, and I was oblivious to what was about to happen.

At first everything went fine. All on our boat were joyful and excited for the day’s adventure. However, none of us had been that far offshore. And, despite our captain’s reassurance, the seemingly tiny boat did not do well when we hit the ten and twelve and fifteen foot swells. Up and down and up and down we went. We caught a couple of big fish, but when the action ceased a queasy quiet descended upon the five not-so- brave souls who were the customers in that boat.

As fear sank into all of us and seasickness overcame us, we could not help but beg our crew to take us back to shore. They radioed the other boat to tell of our cowardice. I can still remember when we made it back to land teetering off the boat and kissing the pier. Looking back, what stings most—besides the other boat coming home with a record catch for that charter company—what stings the most is knowing that once the fear overcame our boat, there was nothing that we knew to do that could change it. Once we got scared, we could not shake the feeling, and this was a sea without any great storm. So, I would be hesitant if Jesus invited me to get in a boat.

What happens when we let fear overtake us? What do you do when fear overwhelms you? On a boat long ago, Jesus asked, “Why are you afraid?” On the choppy sea that is our life, we have a multitude of answers: challenging prognoses, unfulfilling jobs, and broken relationships; stories of families being separated, gun violence, and nuclear proliferation; worries over children, grandchildren, and our world. When Jesus asks us why we are afraid, we do not hesitate with our answers! But, I wonder, “What happens when we face these storms of our lives?”

Our desire might be to rush back to shore when the first dark clouds appear. Or, we might turn back at the first sign of seasickness. But, if we are to go to the other side, how will we face the tempests of life?

The cop-out answer of course, is to say that we face those storms with Jesus. But, what happens when he scares us more than the storms? In today’s story, we see that
the disciples, some of whom were themselves experienced fishermen, turned to Jesus in the face of a great storm swamping their boat. He woke up and immediately calmed the storm. And at that point, the disciples did not know what to do with him.

Sure, the storm itself was perplexing and frightening, but what about the one who calmed the storm. Are we more afraid of the storm or the one who conquers it? And even the way Jesus pacified the gale leaves me puzzled. For Jesus did not so much say
“Peace!” when he rebuked the wind and the waves, so much as he said “Silence!” And, the disciples did not so much have peace and awe when he calmed the storm, as much as they had fear in response to Jesus. In this light, answering “How do we get through life’s storms?” with the Sunday School answer of Jesus is not so reassuring.

Going through life with Jesus does not automatically mean peace and comfort. It may mean our lives are swamped and blown upside-down. And, in the dead calm after the storm, Jesus will ask us, “Have you still no faith? Why are you afraid?” Therein lies the real challenge: do we respond to life’s storms with fear or with faith? Do we respond to life’s storms with fear or with faith?

In our first lesson for today, David answers this question for himself. David, a lowly shepherd, not a warrior, had faith that he could defeat the mighty Goliath. He trusted this because he knew that he had Almighty God on his side. And, although this is a story of violence, in this tale, we see the power of faithfulness conquering fear, even more than a shepherd defeating a giant. Of course, we lose track of this. For we tend to gravitate toward the underdog story. The long shot winning despite the odds. We love those who have faith in themselves despite everything being stacked against them. But, that’s not what this is about. It’s about having faith in God despite all the odds. So, again what about us: do we respond to life’s storms with fear or with faith?

This week in Vacation Bible School we heard some powerful stories of faith. Our topic at V.B.S. was Daniel’s time in Babylon. And, we also studied his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (man, those are fun to say!). Even if you were not at V.B.S. maybe you recall their story. They were strangers in a strange land. Jewish exiles in Babylonian Captivity under King Nebuchadnezzar. The king made a golden statue that all were required to worship, but Jewish law prohibited such idolatry. So,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bow down. And as a result, they were sentenced to suffer and presumably die in a fiery furnace. King Nebuchandnezzar was so enraged by the men that he ordered the flames of the furnace to be made seven times hotter. Even the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the flames died in the process. Well, what happened when they were tossed into the flames? Miraculously they lived. And, even more miraculously a mysterious fourth person—a protector? an angel? God himself?—watched over them. And yet, what stands out is not this miracle, but what the men said to the king before being tossed into the furnace.

They said, “If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O King, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). Boom! Mic drop! Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego embodied faithfulness. They said it does not matter what happens. We will trust our God, even if we must die. This is faithfulness. This is trusting God. This is choosing to follow God even in the face of fear. Contrast this with my seasickness or the disciples crossing open waters. Still, God leads all of us further.

For a long time I have told myself that fear is the opposite of faith. And, some will argue that. However, as we traverse with Jesus to the other side of life we will discover that they are not opposites. Instead fear is a check point on the journey of faith, a by- product in the process. As Jesus bids us to draw closer the path will NOT be a choice between fear and faith. Instead, our faith will be that force which allows us to do those thing that frightens us. Faith will not take away our fear. But, with faith we face our fear with courage. As we cross the ups and downs of life our trust in God transforms us from afraid to courageous. That’s what these stories show us.

When David faced a giant warrior his courage squashed any doubt because he trusted
God. Even though they were about to be burned to death, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had faith in God who melted their fear into courage. And, Jesus most clearly exemplified trusting God even through his betrayal, torture, and death. We too are called into this faithfulness. As God is always faithful to us, we are called to be faithful to God. So, let us get in the boat. The journey will not be easy there will be storms. But, when we trust God we ride through fear and into courage—this is the other side of life with Jesus.