Asleep in the Boat (4 of 5: Stop Trying to Stop Worrying)

What do you do with the worry that comes after you’ve already prayed?

In this episode we step into the boat with the disciples in Mark 4:35–41. A furious squall hits the Sea of Galilee, seasoned fishermen are bailing for their lives, and Jesus is asleep on a cushion in the stern. Their cry, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”, is the question underneath many of our own prayers, and underneath the headlines as well.

Jesus doesn’t scold them for waking him. He gets up, speaks to the wind and waves, and the lake goes still. Then the story takes a strange turn: the disciples are more afraid after the calm than during the storm. Worry asks, “Does God care?” The deeper question is “Who is this in the boat with me?”

Scripture Referenced

  •  Mark 4:35–41, Jesus calms the storm

  •  Psalm 107:25–27, “they were at their wits’ end”

  •  Psalm 89:9, “when its waves mount up, you still them”

  •  Psalm 65:6–7, the God who stills the roaring seas and the turmoil of the nations

  •  Proverbs 30:4, “Whose hands have gathered up the wind?”

  •  Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God”

This Week’s Practice:

Go back to that moment when your prayer felt like it hit the ceiling.

1. Wake him up. Don’t pretend you’re fine. Tell Jesus honestly: I’m scared. I’m not sure you care. He can take it, and the Psalms are full of prayers like that.

2. Ask the better question. Picture your storm, and picture Jesus in the same boat with you. Then ask him: Who are you, in this?

3. Carry someone else’s storm. Choose one storm from the headlines, such as a family in Bend, a town on the Gulf Coast, or a neighbor worried about rent, and bring it to him too.