By Tim Hall
On the morning of August 29, 2005, the costliest storm in U.S. history made landfall on the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina annihilated beachfront homes and property from Texas to Florida. It breached levees and flooded most of New Orleans with as much as 20 feet of polluted water. Katrina left behind over $81 billion dollars in property damage and at least 1,836 dead. More than three years later, many residents are still trying to pick up the pieces.
Such disasters confront us with the recognition that, far from being in control, we are radically vulnerable to life’s random circumstances. They prompt some to doubt that God exists and provoke in others the fear that he does not care. But an incident in Jesus’s life, recorded in John 6:15-21, suggests that even in the worst calamity, God remains in sovereign control.
Jesus had finished performing one of his most well-known miracles, the feeding of the 5,000. The people went home, he retired to the wilderness to pray, and his disciples began to row home across the Sea of Galilee. During the night, a gale whipped up the waves as they struggled to keep the boat afloat and steer it toward shore. Suddenly they noticed a human figure making its way toward them over the swells. The sight frightened the disciples nearly out of their wits--Matthew and Mark tell us that they thought a ghost was paying them a visit! Then the figure spoke, “I Am.” They recognized Jesus, welcomed him into the boat, and immediately found themselves at their destination on the other side of the lake.
This brief, dramatic scene encapsulates one of Scripture’s most potent conflicts, the battle between chaotic void and divine creative order. Ancient peoples viewed the sea as a symbol of chaos and destruction. One of the most powerful and feared of Ancient Near Eastern gods was named Yom, a word which also meant “sea.” Mariners knew how fickle, capricious, treacherous, and deadly Yom could be. Mediterranean storms could blow up huge waves to swamp fragile vessels, sending sailors to a watery grave in Yom’s immense belly.
Consequently, the Old Testament made a point of showing that when Yom and God collide, God always wins. In the beginning, God brought his beautiful creation out of an earth originally “formless and void,” with “darkness on the face of the deep.” Psalm 23:2 reminds readers that the Good Shepherd leads his sheep by “still waters.” Another psalm declares, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it, for he founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters” (24:1-2). God’s reign is peace, but the wicked “are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud” (Isaiah 57:19-20). When Christ ultimately triumphs over evil to establish his eternal kingdom, his people will worship him from the shores of a sea as smooth and still as crystal (Rev. 4:6).
Jesus’ stroll on the waves that night, coupled with his effortless ability to bring the disciples safely across the water, provided unmistakable confirmation that he was “I Am”--the God who “sits enthroned over the flood” (Ps. 29:10), who conquered the Red Sea to rescue his people from slavery (Ex. 14:21-231), who will subdue the sea completely when he remakes heaven and earth (Rev. 21:1). We can call to him from the depths of whatever trouble comes our way, “for with God’s arrival comes love, with God’s arrival comes generous redemption. No doubt about it--he’ll redeem Israel, buy back Israel from captivity and sin” (Ps. 130:1, 7-8).
Such promises do not mean that we will never suffer calamity, but they do leave no doubt that nothing takes our sovereign God by surprise nor diminishes his concern for us. He has promised never to leave or forsake us. His sovereignty ensures that his is both with us in trouble and able to carry us through it, working “all things together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28).
On the morning of August 29, 2005, the costliest storm in U.S. history made landfall on the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina annihilated beachfront homes and property from Texas to Florida. It breached levees and flooded most of New Orleans with as much as 20 feet of polluted water. Katrina left behind over $81 billion dollars in property damage and at least 1,836 dead. More than three years later, many residents are still trying to pick up the pieces.
Such disasters confront us with the recognition that, far from being in control, we are radically vulnerable to life’s random circumstances. They prompt some to doubt that God exists and provoke in others the fear that he does not care. But an incident in Jesus’s life, recorded in John 6:15-21, suggests that even in the worst calamity, God remains in sovereign control.
Jesus had finished performing one of his most well-known miracles, the feeding of the 5,000. The people went home, he retired to the wilderness to pray, and his disciples began to row home across the Sea of Galilee. During the night, a gale whipped up the waves as they struggled to keep the boat afloat and steer it toward shore. Suddenly they noticed a human figure making its way toward them over the swells. The sight frightened the disciples nearly out of their wits--Matthew and Mark tell us that they thought a ghost was paying them a visit! Then the figure spoke, “I Am.” They recognized Jesus, welcomed him into the boat, and immediately found themselves at their destination on the other side of the lake.
This brief, dramatic scene encapsulates one of Scripture’s most potent conflicts, the battle between chaotic void and divine creative order. Ancient peoples viewed the sea as a symbol of chaos and destruction. One of the most powerful and feared of Ancient Near Eastern gods was named Yom, a word which also meant “sea.” Mariners knew how fickle, capricious, treacherous, and deadly Yom could be. Mediterranean storms could blow up huge waves to swamp fragile vessels, sending sailors to a watery grave in Yom’s immense belly.
Consequently, the Old Testament made a point of showing that when Yom and God collide, God always wins. In the beginning, God brought his beautiful creation out of an earth originally “formless and void,” with “darkness on the face of the deep.” Psalm 23:2 reminds readers that the Good Shepherd leads his sheep by “still waters.” Another psalm declares, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it, for he founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters” (24:1-2). God’s reign is peace, but the wicked “are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud” (Isaiah 57:19-20). When Christ ultimately triumphs over evil to establish his eternal kingdom, his people will worship him from the shores of a sea as smooth and still as crystal (Rev. 4:6).
Jesus’ stroll on the waves that night, coupled with his effortless ability to bring the disciples safely across the water, provided unmistakable confirmation that he was “I Am”--the God who “sits enthroned over the flood” (Ps. 29:10), who conquered the Red Sea to rescue his people from slavery (Ex. 14:21-231), who will subdue the sea completely when he remakes heaven and earth (Rev. 21:1). We can call to him from the depths of whatever trouble comes our way, “for with God’s arrival comes love, with God’s arrival comes generous redemption. No doubt about it--he’ll redeem Israel, buy back Israel from captivity and sin” (Ps. 130:1, 7-8).
Such promises do not mean that we will never suffer calamity, but they do leave no doubt that nothing takes our sovereign God by surprise nor diminishes his concern for us. He has promised never to leave or forsake us. His sovereignty ensures that his is both with us in trouble and able to carry us through it, working “all things together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28).
What a great way to look at God's sovereignty. In the storms of life, God is riding the waves with us. God is not absent when crisis hits or calamity strikes, but he is in the midst of it. In the long run, God wins. In the short run we need to have faith knowing we are not alone. Thanks Tim.
ReplyDeleteCool picture, guys. Really sets off the story.
ReplyDelete