That sinking feeling

May 8, 2025

ONE OF THE Gospel stories I’ve most struggled with over the years is the account of the storm when the disciples are in fear for their lives. Many of them are seasoned fishermen, so for them to be worried they are going to drown? It must be a pretty serious situation.

And yet Jesus is asleep in the stern until they shake Him awake. And, once aroused, He seems more ticked than concerned. Having calmed the storm, He asks them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

For the longest time, this struck me as harsh and uncaring. Here are His closest friends, in apparent peril, and He seems insensitive. But then, recently, I saw this episode in a different light. Instead of interpreting the event through Jesus’s final words in the story, I saw them through His first words. In doing so, it felt like I went from holding a telescope the wrong way round—so that everything seemed very small—to looking through it the right way and finding a bigger picture.

And those first words? After a day’s teaching, Jesus says to His disciples, “Let us go across to the other side” (Mark 4:35).

At first glance, not the most profound statement ever. But notice Jesus doesn’t say, “Let’s go and hang out in the middle of the lake.” Or, “Let’s see how far we can get.” Jesus is going to the other side—and nothing is going to stop Him.

Jesus isn’t asleep because He doesn’t care about His friends. He’s asleep because He knows where He is going and there is nothing to worry about. This is about being unfazed, not unfeeling.

May this be an encouragement to you if you ever feel like you’re in a similar situation, when the waves are rising and Jesus doesn’t seem to care. Hold on to what He has spoken to you, because He will fulfill it—He is going to the other side.

Remember that “all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).  Hold on to Numbers 23:19: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Stand on Habakkuk 2:3: “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”

I can’t help but wonder whether, as Jesus stilled the storm, the words of Isaiah 42:1-2 were in His mind: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.”

Turn the telescope round. Never fear. You aren’t going under. You have His word on that.