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
