Then He went aboard the boat, and His disciples followed Him. Before long, a terrific storm sprang up and the boat was awash with the waves. Jesus was sleeping soundly and the disciples went forward and woke Him up. “Lord save us!” they cried. “We’re drowning!”
Matthew 8:23-25
The disciples had spent an eventful and exhausting day with Jesus as He healed the sick and cast out demons. Perhaps, as they started across the water, they expected a restful journey. But that was not to be.
Sometimes we can identify with the disciples. Our lives are following a normal path. But when things seem at their best, a “storm” erupts - illness, financial problems, an errant child, a lost job, random violence, even death of someone close to us. And, like the disciples, we cry out ”Save me! Where are You, Jesus, when I am so troubled, when I need you most?” And the answer is, He is in the boat. He is with us in the storm.
The Psalmist understood. There will be green pastures and still water. But there will also be shadows, even the shadow of death. But, he wrote, I will not fear evil for I know You are with me.
When Jesus stood outside the tomb of His friend Lazarus, scripture says He wept. Onlookers mistook His tears for an expression of sorrow for the pain Mary and Martha were experiencing. But Jesus knew that this scene would be repeated. Lazarus would die again and be separated from his friends and family. That is the nature of life on earth - good and bad, joy and sorrow, life and death.
As we look to the new year, we ask “What will it bring?” And while we are never assured of a perfect, worry free life, as Christians we live with the indwelling of the Holy Spirt of God Who celebrates with us, heals us, sorrows with us and never abandons us. He promises to make us strong. And when our strength fails, when we do not understand, when we cannot see the way, He will lift us up on eagles’ wings. And with this assurance, we face 2024 with anticipation, knowing we are in the hands of God Who is “Waymaker, Miracleworker, Promise Keeper and Light in the Darkness.” That is our God.