Reflection #2 on 'Take Heart, My
Friend' by Fernando Ortega
If we should falter when trouble surrounds us,
When the wind and the waves are wild and high,
We will look away to Him who rules the waters,
Who spoke His peace into the angry tide.
 Have
you ever wondered why the Lord does not calm the storm? When
I was a child, I lived in Missouri which is in the heart of
"tornado alley." I remember as a little girl trembling in
my mother's arms deep in the night. Fearfully I would ask
why God did not stop the storm. My mother would hold me close
and whisper, "This storm we walk through."
The Bible records two storm stories. In the first, Jesus was
in a boat with His disciples. They were on their way across
a lake. They were with Jesus, so we know they were in the
center of God's will. Yet a storm arose. And this was not
a little storm. Remember that some of Jesus' disciples had
been fishermen. They were use to boats and water and storms.
They knew what to do in rough weather. But this storm was
so great that the Bible says it threatened to sink the ship.
Mark records:
"Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and
they woke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that
we are perishing?' And He got up and rebuked the wind and
said to the sea, 'Hush, be still.' And the wind died down
and it became perfectly calm" (Mark 4:38-39 NASB).
I noticed that the disciples did not say to Jesus, "Don't
You know that we are perishing?" No, they asked Him, "Don't
You care?" I confess that I have asked Him that myself. And
the answer is always, "Yes, He cares."
In this instance Jesus calmed the storm immediately. But that
is not always His method of dealing with rough weather. The
Bible records another storm story. In the book of Matthew
we read that Jesus sent His disciples on ahead of Him across
the sea. And in the middle of the night, a storm arose (Why
do storms always come at night?). This time Jesus came walking
on the waves to His friends. When they saw Him, they were
terrified, thinking He was a ghost.
"But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take courage,
it is I; do not be afraid.' Peter said to Him, 'Lord, if it
is You, command me to come to You on the water.' And He said,
'Come!' And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water
and came toward Jesus" (Matthew 14:27-29 NASB).
Now many of us know the story: Peter started to sink, and
Jesus lifted him up. He took him back to the boat and then
calmed the storm. My point is that whether He calms the storm
immediately, or whether He asks you to walk through it, He
is there with you. As the song by Fernado Ortega says, "Take
heart, my friend." The Lord is there. He will never leave
you or forsake you. This may be a storm you have to walk through,
but you can do it with Him.
-Suzy C. Scripture Reference:
Mark 4:38-39; Matthew 14:27-29
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