Jesus Is Not Anxious

Matthew 8:24 “…but he was asleep…”

The disciples asked what sort of man is this who can calm the wind and the waves. I would have asked what kind of man this is that can sleep when it looks like we might die.

I have a strange relationship with anxiety. I know well the kill shot to anxiety, a robust trust in the providence of the Lord. I also know well the awful vein bulging, heart pounding, tight and queasy feeling of expecting calamity and dreading it. I win sometimes and I lose a lot.

The bible is loaded with the lives of people who trusted in the Lord and saw him work for their good in spite of devastating circumstances. So, we know that he works for good. We know that even death can’t take us without it being his good and perfect time (Matthew 10:26-33).

These events were recorded for us to take courage with. “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11)

Jesus and the guys are in the boat and a storm comes on them and threatens their very lives. The boys are worried and anxious. Jesus is catching some “z’s” because they have some work ahead of them. The guys wake the Lord and he mildly rebukes them and calms the storm with a word. These cats are amazed that Jesus can calm a storm. And, they should be amazed. That was something only God can do, and since Jesus is God, well, they saw a miracle from the hand of God.

But I’m more taken with the fact that Jesus was sleeping while the boys were tripping.

What Jesus knows and what he tells us all over the gospels is that he is in control. He tells us not to worry about essentials like the unbelievers do but to seek his kingdom and righteousness first and he’ll take care of mission essentials. He tells us not to fear because even birds don’t fall to the ground apart from the will of the Father and that we are much more valuable than birds.

Jesus tells us all of this. It’s in the Manual.

On top of this we get the introduction to Matthew’s gospel telling us about the Lord’s leading of Joseph to providentially put him in the right place at the right time for Joseph and Mary’s good and the fulfilling of Scripture.

We even have the story of the Old Testament Joseph telling us that what bad guys meant for evil that God meant the bad guys evil actions bent on evil for good. Genesis 50:20 is loaded. In the doing of evil by evil men God was at work meaning their evil for good. Wow!

Genesis 22 even tells us about old Abraham encountering the God who see’s (provides) by causing the ram to be caught in the bushes at just the right time.

So, Jesus was not worried. He was working all things out for his glory and the good of his boys just like he was doing in these other examples. We need to know this and we need to taste it.

The only way we can taste this is to know it and follow the Lord Jesus daily and fight for peace knowing that when I hear and obey that the results are not in my hands but in the hands of one who can truly effect change and transformation far beyond my feeble attempts.

Make an effort to cease striving and know that King Jesus is God and that he is not worried or bothered and perhaps you and I can cast all our anxiety on him because he cares for us.