The Anchor of God’s Love in a Deadly Sea

By Pastor Doug Cox

In my last article titled “Worship – The Door to Deliverance” I talked about how Jesus was willing to cross the sea to go to Gadara to deliver a man who was tormented by a legion of demonic spirits. This man gone wild was living in the tombs, and no one could bind him or tame him and chains couldn’t hold him. He spent night and day crying in torment, cutting himself with stones. He was miserable and an outcast of society. Everybody wanted him to go away, that is, everybody but God the Father Who noticed him and wanted him free. So, the Father sent a PM to Jesus about that by way of the Holy Spirit. We know that because Jesus told His disciples to get in the boat because we’re going to the other side.

Now while on the way across the sea, Jesus went to sleep in the boat. At the same time a dangerous, life threatening storm hit them and the disciples were freaking out thinking they were going to perish. Desperate, they awakened Jesus and He arose rebuked the wind and calmed the sea with the authority filled words, “peace be still.” Then with bed head and sleep in His eyes Jesus turned and asked His disciples, “Why are you so fearful? Why is it that you have no faith?

At this point I wonder if any of the disciples wanted to ask Jesus “How is it that You have so much faith?” How is it that You are not afraid? In my mind those are reasonable questions. If seasoned fishermen were afraid, wouldn’t we all be? So again, the question, where did Jesus’ faith and fearlessness come from? Personally, I think the answer is found in John 5:19 where Jesus tells some Pharisees how His ministry works. He said “…most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. Whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”

Now back to the middle of the storm. Apparently, that storm didn’t frighten Jesus because He had already seen a preview of God using Him to deliver this demoniac from legion and putting him in his right mind. That meant this storm, (this raging storm that scared experienced fishermen), was not going to stop this future miracle from happening. Because Jesus had already seen God using Him to set this man free there could not be a possibility of Him drowning before it happened.

God’s love and purpose was not going to be drowned or stopped. Jesus knew that and therefore had no fear. I’m convinced that had the disciples decided to gut it out and let Jesus sleep they would have made it to the other side. We will never know unless we ask Jesus when we get to heaven.

Something else to consider is do you think Jesus was angry with the disciples for waking Him? Was He harsh with them right after He calmed the storm and said peace be still? Was He angry or, was there a seriousness along with a little tease in His words for how they responded? Personally, I choose the latter.

I think somehow when He said “why are you so fearful” and “why is it that you have no faith,” that He was relaying a dual message, something like “you guys should know by now that as long as you are with Me, everything will be alright” and, “I understand, let’s just do better next time.”

To close I think we should all be aware of the not only the reassuring power of God’s boundless love, but it’s keeping power. If we are following the directives of how God’s love is leading us, we shouldn’t be afraid of the storms in the meantime. His love will see us through!

I hope you will carefully read through the following prayer by Paul and ask the Lord to reveal His love to you in a deeper way…

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”  Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV

Lord help us be anchored in Your love, even in the middle of life’s storms.