We don’t always understand God.  What I mean by that is that we don’t always understand His plan and the way He works or carries out His plan.  I remember talking to a man who was struggling spiritually.  He was full of anger and bitterness and on the brink of giving up.  In the midst of it all he prayed and prayed earnestly asking God to reveal Himself, but God seemed silent, no response.

That reminds me of the story recorded in Matthew 8:24-25, “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered up with waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him saying, ‘Lord, save us!  We are perishing!’“ We don’t know how long the disciples waited before they woke Jesus up but knowing that they were experienced fishermen, we can guess that it was a while.  They only woke Him up when the tempest was getting worse, and they could not navigate the boat.

We don’t know for sure what went through their minds seeing Jesus sound asleep, unperturbed by the raging storm. But if we were in their shoes, we might not be too happy.  We might wonder, “How can you sleep? Don’t you care?” Maybe that is what we think today when God is silent, not giving any responses in times of need.  “Just do something!” is perhaps the prayer that we say over and over.

What the disciples did not know then was that even though the human body of Jesus was asleep, His divine spirit was not.  He, the Son of God, the Almighty God, was watching everything and in full control.  Not only was He in control of the boat and the lives of His disciples, but He was also in control of the storm.  And He woke up not because He was awakened but rather it was time for Him to act. 

Like the good old song says, “He cares for you, He cares for you.  Through sunshine or shadows, He cares for you.”  Yes, He does.

Pastor Paul