Are Those Flying Monkeys?

You’ve all seen the movie.  The wind starts to kick up as the young girl and her dog try to head home.  But a tornado is coming!  Before she can get into the protection of the storm cellar, she sees everything from cows to people swirling around her in a chaotic mess.  Does YOUR life seem a bit like Dorothy’s?  I mean BEFORE she crushed the witch and landed in Oz?  More to the point, are things flying at you from every direction and making it hard to THINK, let alone ACT on your faith?  How do our lives become so out-of-control?  Why do we permit the chaos that swirls around us?

Jesus’ disciples could have identified with Dorothy (and you):

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”  Mark 4:35-40

The disciples were going about their ordinary day-to-day business of getting from point A to point B with Jesus.  Yet a huge storm interrupted their journey and, at least to THEM, seemed to threaten their lives.  Aren’t there times when you kind of feel like the boat you’re in is taking on water?  That the storm is too great to make any headway?  That’s EXACTLY how the disciples felt.  And where was Jesus?  S-L-E-E-P-I-N-G.  They were indignant!  Didn’t Jesus care about them at all?  How could He let them just DIE as they were trying to serve Him?

There are always lessons to learn from the pages of Scripture, so let me just boldly make some points for us both:

1.   The storm wasn’t as bad as it seemed.  The disciples weren’t going to die; they just felt like they might.  Whatever you’re facing right now – all the swirling debris and chaos – isn’t going to kill you. 

2.   Jesus cares more about your faith than your circumstances.  In fact, He USES the challenges we face to GROW our faith.  I suspect the disciples got the point, but the greater questions is, “Do I get it?”

3.   The peace and calm we seek is only found in Jesus.  It was (and is) only Jesus who could calm the storm.  Note that they didn’t wake Him and ask Him to calm the storm.  They only woke Him to accuse Him of not caring about them.

I want to quickly add that not all of the swirling and chaos in our lives is there because God wants to use it to grow us.  Some of the “busy-ness” is there because we haven’t learned to say “No”; some of it is because we give time to things we think are important that really aren’t; and some of it is due to letting the world have pieces of us that should be reserved for God and His service. 

If you feel a little “light in the shoes” like Dorothy and believe you may just be blown away any minute, or if you share the fear of the disciples in the boat and wonder if God cares, there is an easy answer.  Stop what you’re doing immediately, close your eyes, and look for Jesus.  He’s there, ready to be the anchor for your soul; your resting place; your life-preserver, if need be.  Though He rested on the boat that day with the disciples, He does not rest or sleep now.  He is ALWAYS praying for you, just waiting for you to reach out to Him.  Because He cares for you.

If you’d rather not ask Jesus for help, then try clicking your heels together and wishing for home.  See how that works for you.  But watch out for the flying monkeys….

Jacob