Chosen Grace

Hey everyone! I can’t believe 2024 is almost over. But, as we enjoy these last few days remaining- here is a blog post to help you on your journey.

Last week, I was on a five day cruise and I experienced several new things. I went on a plane for the first time, I went to a different country for the first time, and I experienced a rocky boat ride for the first time.

You see, it was day three of the trip and my best friend and I were enjoying it. We had explored Jamacia and all it had to offer. I was really enjoying the different languages I had been hearing and different musical styles. We had also met an older couple who kept us quite entertained. Life was going smoothly and I was enjoying myself.

After we got back on the boat, we were relaxing in the room and talking about our adventure for that day. Soon, we heard the ship’s intercom ding, which let us know that there was an important message that we needed to hear.

The captain began to let us know that as we were leaving Jamacia, a storm was headed to the island. He informed us that he had to re-route us so that it wouldn’t rain, but we would face strong winds.

And boy, was he right.

It seemed that as soon as that message came through, we immediately felt the ship began to rock uncomfortably. Though a little nervous, we traveled to the lido deck, where it began to rock us uncomfortably. After grabbing food, we went back to our room and decided that this was where we should stay for the night.

As I lay in my bed, rocking, I felt the Holy Spirit urge me to read the passage below:

”Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.”

-Matthew 8:23-24, NIV

In this passage, Matthew’s writer lands us after a few notable events have happened. At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus heals a man with leprosy and is amazed at the faith of a centurion. After he heals even more people and tells that crowd what it will cost to follow Him, we then enter our scene for today.

Jesus, who was probably tired after a long day, got into a boat and his disciples followed Him. As the were traveling a long the lake, a storm appeared out of nowhere and his disciples freaked out. They saw the waves coming over into the boat and had a fit.

But not Jesus. Nope- our Savior was sleeping.

I’ll admit to you all that upon reading this situation as my own boat was rocking, I could not fathom how Jesus was counting sheep during a time like this. I mean, I was on a pretty big cruise boat, and upon doing research, I learned that Biblical fisherman boats weren’t really that big. So, the smaller the boat- the more it would rock.

As I studied even more, the Holy Spirit began to minister to me that our lives with Jesus are a lot like a boat ride. Like the disciples, we have decided to follow Jesus by coming into a relationship with Him. This looks like us leaving our old way of life behind and choosing a new life. This new life consists of letting God be our Lord and leading us into places that we could never go on our own. To speak plainly- God becomes our captain in life.

However, this boat ride with Christ is not always smooth sailing. There are times when the boat begins rocking with trials, temptations, and persecutions. And like the disciples, we begin to freak out as we start to see the spiritual waves of life crash into our once peaceful boat ride.

To be honest, readers, I’ve been in this pace of rockiness a lot. Recently, I’ve been a little thrown off by a circumstance that God has allowed me to experience, and like the disciples- I immediately began to watch the waves rather than the one who can walk on them.

And also like the disciples, this is what Jesus spoke to me:

‘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 winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. ‘

– Matthew 8:25-26, NIV

You see, Jesus was sleeping and the disciples (like many of us) couldn’t understand why. So, they went to Him and asked Him to save them. Jesus replies to them “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”

And He is asking this same question to us today.

You see, Jesus asked His disciples because they were nervous that they would drown (and rightfully so). Similarly, when the storms of life threaten us, we often wonder how, if, and can God deliver us out of our situations. We begin to doubt who He is at times unknowingly.

What the 12 disciples and us failed to recognize is that Jesus, called Emmanuel, is God with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). The disciples knew Jesus was with them, but they failed to recognize that He is all powerful.

Like the disciples, we sometimes fail to recognize that God is with us and/or the power God truly possesses. We have to remember that our God has many names, like Elohim (Creator God), Jehovah Rapha (The God who Heals), El-Roi (The Living One Who Sees), etc. When we call God by these specific names- He will work in that way.

If our God can be whatever we need when we need Him, surely He can calm the waves of those spiritual storms.

The beautiful part about this passage is that Jesus doesn’t rebuke the disciples for their lack of faith. No- instead, He rebukes the wind and waves. And immediately, everything calmed down.

What this means for us, friends, is that our God is with us – even as we pass through some of life’s toughest moments (Isaiah 43:2-3). He will gently hold us as He rebukes and fights our battles. Why? Because He is faithful to us even when we are faithless (2 Tim 2:13). God doesn’t mind our questions and doubts, as long as we partner with Him to get through whatever challenge we are facing. And to do that- we must have faith- even if it’s mustard seed size.

As I close this post for today, I would like to go back to Jesus sleeping. As I pondered this, I closed my own eyes as my boat was rocking and immediately relaxed as the rocking of the boat felt more like a lullaby than a huge storm. My body didn’t fight the waves as I allowed myself to be tossed gently. Soon, I drifted off to sleep and didn’t feel a thing.

In our passage for this post, Jesus did the same thing. He didn’t fight the storm as His disciples did. He simply rested where He was- allowing peace to reign.

To close, I want to encourage all of you to rest on your boat ride with Christ. Let God be the captain. And even when things get a little rocky, remember that God is gonna get you to where He promised you that you should be.

As one of my favorite actresses, Lauren London, said once, “Roll with the river, don’t fight with the rocks.”

With a new love for rocking boats,

Malaysia