Take a minute and imagine:
The sun is setting over the Sea of Galilee, bringing a needed coolness to the long, hot day. For hours you’ve sat among the crowd on the shore, listening to your Teacher. As the light wanes, He calls you and the other eleven to join Him and head across the sea.
But out on the water, things turn deadly. Out of nowhere a storm picks up; you and the others scramble to secure the sails and to empty the rapidly filling boat, the wind snatching away your panicked cries.
As the darkness engulfs you and the rising waves knock you down, you wonder if this is the end.
In despair, you run to where He’s sleeping – how can He be sleeping? – and cry out. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
As He wakes, you see not an ounce of fear or hurry in His eyes. He makes His way to the edge of the boat and softly, yet with great authority, speaks. “Peace. Be still.”
And as nature obeys, so does your heart.
From Mark 4:35-41.
If we’re being honest, this is how it can feel to follow the Lord. He often calls us to join Him in hard and tumultuous places. Sometimes, we don’t quite know what we’re getting into; we follow happily but once there, we’re faced with fear, doubts and discouragement. Other times, we do know what to expect – but we feel a great sense of our inadequacy for the task at hand.
It is perfectly natural to feel these things. What the disciples felt as they stood on the boat was a very rational fear, in response to a very real threat and their very real powerlessness.
But can you imagine if they hadn’t followed Jesus onto the boat? They certainly would have avoided the terror of that experience. But, they also would have missed out on witnessing the revelation of Him as the One having authority over the wind and waves.
In the same way, when the Lord nudges us to follow Him into the hard places, it can be easy to hesitate. We may feel like we aren’t fill-in-the-blank enough, like someone else can do it better than we can. Or we may be afraid of the sacrifices it will require or the heartache it will cause us.
But what amazing things might we miss out on if we don’t follow where He’s leading?
God’s strength is most clearly seen in our weakness.
We often hear it said that God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called. And this is true!
Consider Moses – a man “slow of speech and of tongue,” whom God used as His mouthpiece to Pharaoh and the Israelites. Or the disciples, “uneducated, common men” who walked with Jesus and brought the news of the gospel to their brethren. Countless times throughout Scripture, God has chosen the inadequate and the unexpected to do His will.
The beautiful, hard truth is that it’s in our weakness that we see God’s strength on full display (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
It can be so painful to come to terms with our inability and impotence. But just beyond that pain, we find freedom. When we’re brought to a place where all remnants of self-sufficiency have been swept away and we cry out desperately for the Lord to hear us, He does. He meets us in our lack and supplies our need (Philippians 4:19).
God is with us in the storm.
This is exactly what happened in Possum Trot, Texas in 1998-2000.
The Martins and their community stepped out boldly in faith, knowing that the Lord was calling them to get involved in the foster crisis in their county. Despite their fears and doubts, they were willing to get in the boat with Jesus.
And it wasn’t easy; pretty soon the storms of trauma, behavioral struggles and financial hardship began to rock them. But in those moments, they didn’t despair or turn their backs. Instead, they cried out to Jesus. They knew that they were never called to do this work in their own strength, and in order to finish what they began, they would have to rely entirely on Him to hold them afloat (2 Corinthians 9:8-10).
And look at what God did in their community as a result!
Can you imagine if they had been unwilling to take this leap of faith? If they had let their fears, doubts and sense of inadequacy sway them?
They wouldn’t have known such hardship, for sure. But they also wouldn’t have known the joy that came from seeing the difference made in their community. They wouldn’t have known the power of God’s redemptive work in the lives of 77 children. They wouldn’t have been a part of what God was doing to inspire others to step out in faith too.
Are you being called to get in the boat?
Where has the Spirit been nudging you to “get in the boat” with Him? Has He asked you to join Him in a space that makes you feel afraid or inadequate?
Take a minute to be still and rest in Him. Name those fears, then ask Him to show you the right next step and to supply you with the strength you need to take it.
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Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot Screening Opportunity & Group Discussion Guide
This 2024 film is inspiring churches and communities worldwide to follow in the footsteps of the Martins and their church by engaging in foster care, adoption and wrap-around family support.
Now you can host a free, private screening of the film at your church, nonprofit or child-serving agency! Fill out this impact screening request to get started. Then, download the free Sound of Hope discussion guide to help your group better understand foster care, identify the unique roles they can play in ending this crisis and take the right next step.
