“Peace doesn’t come by finding a lake with no storms, but by having Jesus in your boat and trusting Him” Dr. Tim Sisk said in a sermon he titled Keep Calm. It’s part of a series he called Flourish, about how Jesus came to give us abundant life. Part of living an abundant life is trusting Him.

Have you ever been in a boat when there was a storm? Or have you been in a place you knew God wanted you to be, but all of a sudden there were great difficulties and you wonder why God brought you here? That’s what happened to the disciples:

“On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.”

Jesus told them to get in the boat and go across the lake, but now when there is a storm, Jesus is sleeping? The disciples were experienced fisherman. They knew how to handle boats and I’m sure they had been in many storms in their lives. But this storm was enough to really scare them.

“And they woke Jesus and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’”

Have you ever asked that same question, wondering if God really cares about you and the situation you are in?

“And Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?'” Mark 4:35-40

There are a lot of lessons to learn from this passage: Jesus does care, We should have faith and not doubt, Jesus has the power to calm our “storms.” But what strikes me most right now, is that even though the disciples lacked faith and questioned Jesus’s care for them, the disciples still went to Jesus for help. When they were in trouble they called out to God. That is certainly an example we should follow. Peace isn’t about not having storms, but calling out to Jesus when the storms come.

“Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” Jeremiah 33:3