In the Same Boat

This idiom was first used by the ancient Greeks, referring to the risks shared by all passengers in a small boat at sea. Through time, the meaning came to include all people in similar, unpleasant circumstances at sea, on land, or in the air.

Let me go back to its origin to distil the complicated concept of life storms.  

These are problems that assault us, making us feel as though we’re sinking, drowning, being beaten by the swirling waters and turbulent tides in the deep blue sea.

In such situations, we desperately call out to God for help.

When the problem continues to rip us apart, we ask, "Are you sleeping, Jesus?"

Jesus was indeed sleeping!  

In a boat with His disciples, Jesus was asleep, unmindful of the dangers that lurked around them.

"But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water . . . The disciples woke him up, shouting, 'Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown? 

“When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Silence! Be still!'  Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

“Then he asked them, 'Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?'”

If you were in the same boat, wouldn't you be afraid, too? The possibility of drowning and dying is terrifying. 

But ah, Jesus was in the same boat, too!  The same boat being battered by waves and wind.

How easily we forget that when we suffer through harrowing experiences, He is with us. He will not allow us to sink; He calms the waves and wind.

But in truth, the real storm is not what's outside of us, but what is within us—fear. It’s gnawing fear that makes the situation seem worse; it’s our inner turmoil that needs calming.   

Jesus asks, "Do you still have no faith?"

Jesus is in the same boat. And if He is, should we be fearful? Should we even worry?

May His grace continue to steady and strengthen our fledgling faith. 

(Quoted verses: Mark 4:37-40 NLT)

Photo credit: Painting by Ludolf Bakhuizen, 1695