Crashing, but not Crushing
It was FINALLY time! The calendar had reached the dates that I had been waiting for--the words read V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N. A trip had been planned to see friends and family in the state of Indiana. The week would start in Terre Haute, then we would travel on to the Fort Wayne area, and would end with spending some time on Lake Michigan.
If you have been to Lake Erie, then you know how “great” the Great Lakes are! Lake Michigan is no exception. It has beautiful sandy beaches, seagulls, and gorgeous views from on top of the sand dunes. The only thing missing was that misty, salty air.
I sat down on the warm sand and began to observe the scene before me. The undertow was especially dangerous that day. The waves were reaching heights of 4-5 feet and a red flag warning had been issued for swimmers.
I became fixated on those waves: the rhythm of them building and breaking, the sound of them hitting the shore, and the amount of white foam being produced with each one. Some of those waves were monsters as they broke on the shoreline; they seemed to be both crashing and crushing.
CRASHING and CRUSHING
Those waves prompted me to think back on the last 18 months--both on a personal level and a ministry level. I had seen a tremendous amount of change in my personal life as we moved our family of 6 from Indiana to Pennsylvania just 7 weeks before the pandemic began. Everything was new again, and many adjustments were being navigated--and this caused many ripples and sometimes waves to develop in our family life. Crashing.
Our ministry life saw many waves as well. They reached severe heights as people in our congregation weathered physical/emotional sickness, death, and extreme financial loss. My husband performed a record number of funerals during the last 18 months--with some of them being for people that we loved dearly including family. Crashing.
And yet I am reminded of a beautiful story involving waves that is found in the Gospels.
Let’s look at the account in Matthew 8:23-27(NIV).
Jesus went out on a boat with his disciples on the lake. Out of nowhere, a furious storm came upon them and the waves began to sweep over the boat. I’m sure that the disciples became frantic over what to do! But where was Jesus? Verse 24 tells us that he was SLEEPING!
Verses 25-27 in this passage says:
“The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and it was completely calm. These men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
The waves were BIG. Big enough to sweep over the boat! My thought is that those waves were not only crashing over the boat, but they were probably intense enough to be CRUSHING to the boat. And yet, it didn’t get to that point.
Think about the physical and emotional implications of this story.
The disciples thought that they were going to be done for. Physical death was near. But Jesus, in word and action, reminds them that He is ENOUGH. The waves may have crashed around the boat, even over them, but they didn’t CRUSH them. His rebuking words calmed the wind/waves and they were saved!
The faith of the disciples was still being developed--they had not been following him for long. Jesus not only calmed the physical waves, but also the emotional waves that they had in their hearts. Verse 27 says that “The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” This showed the disciples that Jesus was worthy of their faith, trust, and obedience.
There is absolutely no way to avoid the waves. Some may be ripples, some may be monsters. Paul reminds believers in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9(NIV) that “We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Waves will build and crash in the seas of our lives.
But Jesus saves us from the physical and emotional crushing nature of the waves because even the waves obey Him.
He is more than enough!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lindsey Parks
Lindsey Parks is a pastor’s wife, momma, registered nurse, teacher, and lover of Jesus. She desires to see every woman living in the fullness of God’s love and promises. She is on staff as Outreach Director of Christian Life Church in Trafford and serves on the discipleship team of Hope House, a woman's home in McKeesport, PA. Lindsey and her husband Jared have four amazing children: Kyla, Keira, Benjamin, and Klare.