I was reading this passage nearly 10 years ago when the disciples’ question stood out to me for the first time. This well-known story is covered in three Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Yet, Mark is the only one who records the disciples’ question in this way: “don’t you care…?” These men were terrified, and some of these terrified men fished these waters for a living. They had surely been out in stormy weather before. I suspect that there must have been something different about this one. It was raging in a way that made even the “experts” on the boat know they were in trouble. They were so busy looking around at their circumstances that they lost sight of the person sailing with them.  

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They’ve seen Jesus do miraculous things. Yet, when faced with what seems like insurmountable circumstances, they’re unsure if Jesus will move for them. I wonder if they knew Jesus could do miraculous things, but they questioned His goodness toward them. Maybe they wondered if it was only for other people. The reality is—Jesus cared deeply for them, and He was present in the thick of the storm with them. He didn’t abandon them, but He was not responding in a manner or at the speed the disciples would have preferred. So, they audaciously say to Jesus, “don’t you care?”

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I want to say I do better, but I don’t always. The words I use may be different, but the ugly root is still there. The “Really, Lord?” attitude. Nearly ten years ago I wrote, “The storm may not always pass when we’re ready, but He’ll stay in it with us until it passes. I pray I always choose faith. I’ve seen God do too much to choose differently.”

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I probably felt pretty wise when I wrote it. Then the years immediately after brought some of the heaviest, hardest, grief-laden seasons. There was the lesson, and then there was the lab where I had to wrestle this out. I did not always do this well. But you know what? God is good. He stayed with me in the anger, in the sadness, in the questions, and in the moments when I wasn’t sure if I would ever want to talk to Him again. Some storms miraculously lifted. Some storms were weathered. Some storms I still don’t understand. Even the ones I would have given anything not to experience have produced something good. God wastes nothing. He stays with us through the worst storms and the darkest nights, and He carries us when we can’t keep going.  

Now the question that stands out to me is Jesus’ question at the end of our key verses today: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” See, my family found ourselves in what we felt was a challenging season at the end of this summer. Then, our dear friends received life-changing news. They’re rowing into a hurricane. We’re trying to row beside them. We all need Jesus in the storm with us, and I’ve learned we also need God’s people. It can be overwhelming to face what even the “experts” worry about. The circumstances feel like they’re enough to sink the boat. Yet, Jesus simply asks, “Why are you afraid?”

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His question to us might sound harsh here, but as I heard recently, “God doesn’t call you out. He calls you up.” Where might God be calling you to step up in faith? Are you in a storm right now? Are you wondering where God is or whether or when He is going to move? First, I’m so sorry if that’s where you find yourself today. I don’t know what your storm is, but I empathize deeply with your pain. Jesus is with you.

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God can use our circumstances to grow us while He also weeps with us. Fear can overwhelm us if we fix our eyes on our circumstances, but our faith is strengthened as we lift our eyes to our Savior and lead our hearts in truth despite our feelings. If you’re in the storm, ask the Lord to fill you with the faith, endurance, and peace necessary to weather it well. Get others involved in praying for and with you. And if you’re not in a storm today, pray those things for the families in our church who are. They need it!