When He got
into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great
storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus
Himself was asleep. And they came to Him
and woke Him, saying, "Save us,
Lord; we are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you
men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea,
and it became perfectly calm. Matthew 8:23-26
A
pastor had been on a long flight between church conferences. The first warning of the approaching problems
came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten Your Seat Belts.
Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting
a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened." As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it
became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice on the intercom said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve
the meal at this time. The turbulence is
still ahead of us." And then
the storm broke…….
The
ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the
engines. Lightning lit up the darkening
skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a
celestial ocean. One moment the airplane
was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as it were about
to crash. The pastor confessed that he
shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane,
I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were
praying. The future seemed ominous and
many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.”
It
was then he saw a little girl.
Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she
sat on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her small world
was calm and orderly. Sometimes she
closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs,
but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the
terrible storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with
frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that
marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid. The minister could hardly believe his eyes.
It
was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its
destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, our pastor
lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and the
behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.
The
child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking
me home."
There
are many kinds of storms that buffet us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and
many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane
into apparent uncontrollable movement.
Let’s be honest and confess, we have all known such times when we are
being tossed about a darkened sky. But
remember: Our Father is the Pilot. He is in control and taking us home. Don't
worry!
Scripture to Claim:
The men were
amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the
sea obey Him?" Matthew 8:27
