"Who is this man that even the winds and the waves obey Him?”—(Luke 8:25).
If you think "Duck Dynasty" is funny, then you need to meet Buddy Jordan. My dad is notorious for his one liners. He’s got a “Buddy-ism” for just about anything. These pearls of wisdom are bestowed freely and often at family gatherings and sometimes he will give me a few dozen in just one phone conversation.
A few years ago, while walking through a painful season of heartbreak and planning the finest pity-party this side of the Mississippi, I called home. Full of fear, anxiety and losing my joy...I was desperately trying to make sense of my life.
My Dad picked up the phone. I expected mom, so I tried to cover my tears with the usual inventory of questions: How’s everyone? Whats going on? And then I just broke down. My dad’s not much of a “counselor,” so I didn’t know if he could handle the full-on female drama that was happening on the other end of the line. But to my surprise, he listened as I lamented. He made it through about a full two minutes of my single girl woes, before his capacity for the Lifetime channel reached its max.
Then, when he couldn't take any more of my full-blown meltdown he said,
“Ah, girl you need to shush! Stop your cryin! You do realize that God isn’t taking Malox over your situation!”
“GOD IS NOT TAKING MALOX OVER YOUR SITUATION!”
Ouch! At first I was hurt that he didn’t join in my pity party and help me lament the doom of my life. But then, as his words sunk in, I began to laugh. He was right. The straight shooting, no-bull truth was just what I needed. God was not taking Malox over my situation!
For those of you who don’t speak east Texan, let me translate. In his vernacular, my dad reminded me of this truth. Jesus is Sovereign. Jesus is in control. Jesus knows what He is doing. Even when I can’t make sense of what is going on ... Jesus knows, Jesus sees and Jesus has not lost His grip on the situation. Jesus is “Before all things and He holds all things together!” (Colossians 1:17). He’s got this!
Someone would take Malox for an upset stomach, typically brought on by nerves or fears. My dad reminded me that God is not nervous or fearful about the future, because He holds the future—stunning theology wrapped in East Texas twang. God is not anxiously waiting to see the outcome of a situation, because He is all-knowing, all-powerful and always holding me in the palm of His loving hands.
There’s an amazing moment in the life of Christ that illustrates this truth perfectly. Jesus is on a boat when a powerful storm emerges. Waves crashing. Winds howling. Disciples Crying. While He is sleeping, the disciples are freaking out. Fearing that they will die in the storm, they are in their own full-blown meltdown. I love the way The Message Bible translates this story.
Then he (Jesus) got in the boat, his disciples with him. The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat —and he was sound asleep! They roused him, pleading, “Master, save us! We’re going down!”
Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: “Silence!” The sea became smooth as glass.
The men rubbed their eyes, astonished. “What’s going on here? Wind and sea come to heel at his command!”
Finally, the disciples cried out to Jesus in their fear, “Master!” This name of God implies His sovereignty, power, rule and reign. What I find interesting is that these men intellectually acknowledged Jesus as Master, but the wind and the waves revealed that their hearts didn’t truly believe that He truly is Master.
But then, they beheld His glory.
Jesus awakes. Stands. Faces the storm. Speaks. (Ponder this...the same God who first spoke the oceans and sky into existence, now stands before His creation and commands it to obey!)
“Silence!” says the Master. And the sea became as smooth as glass.
Oh how I love Jesus!
Just when we think we have Jesus figured out, He goes and does something so mind boggling that we are left jaw dropped. This is precisely how the disciples felt. I imagine them staring at Jesus then back to the water. Jesus. Water. Jesus. Water. Jesus. Water.
Then looking back and forth at each other they ask, “Did you see that?” Stunned by the authority, power and sovereignty of Christ, they marvel, “Who is this man that even the winds and the waves obey Him? (Luke 8:25).
The God who spoke our very lives into existence, is right now, watching over us, protecting us, leading us and loving us. Even when the storms emerge and the winds whip, He is with us. Jesus is in our boat, and one thing is for sure: He’s not taking Malox over our situations!
