by By Brian Prince
The violinists who continued to play as the Titanic sunk have received a lot of ‘haterade’ over the years. But I have always thought that they were no worse than the other lot who got into a frenzy and started to run around helter-skelter — because people generally make worse decisions when they are riled up compared to when they are calm. So maybe we should lighten up on the violinists.
This brings to mind several instances when things were officially bad. Remember when a boatful ofprofessional fishermen were screaming at the top of their lungs because they knew for certain that they were going to drown. What they could not understand is how inside the same boat was the one who had the power to help, yet he seemed not to be aware of their dire situation. He just slept peacefully like nothing was happening. Who does that?
These fishermen from Galilee had seen it all. They knew the seas. They knew when the turbulence was nothing to write home about and they could also tell when things were really bad. This was one of those bad ones. Yet the supposed saviour of the world was asleep in the stern of the boat.
For starters, how does one sleep through such a racket? Secondly, even if He was privy to some knowledge about how things would pan out and that they were not going to drown, would it not be courteous to pass on that information to the captain beforehand to prevent such panic?
This is the current state of affairs. Not just in Kenya but across the world. As we speak, things have literally come to a head by every metric you can think of. The Kenyan shilling has plummeted to an all time low against the dollar, the price of fuel has risen to stratospheric heights, the rate of unemployment is at an all-time high and going by the projections of those who would know (David Ndii and Moses Kuria), things are going to get worse before they get better; if they get better. The ship is officially sinking!
But what is Jesus saying or doing about it? Doesn’t He care if we perish?
When life’s waves are beating us up and down, it seems like he does not care or at the very least He seems not to move with urgency.
It is one of the worst questions you can ask Jesus — to question if He cares for us. Yet we do it more often than we care to admit. Going by all natural cues, a lot of the times we feel justified to make that assumption. But the thing is, as He told the disciples,
“I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Do you notice how he actually puts ‘many troubles” and “being of good cheer” in the same thought”? He says that the goal is that we may have peace.
What’s a little rain?
The knowledge that He has overcome the world should bring us peace amidst the troubles that we experience today. This means there is a connection between the fact that He has overcome the world and our well-being. It is my conviction that nothing that is going on now has caught Him by surprise and that His purpose for me, for my family, for my nation, the church and the whole world will prevail.
Knowing this and knowing His nature that is love and that He is as a good parent (better than our natural parents) would never give us stones if we asked for bread nor snakes if we asked for fish (Matthew 7:11), I am convinced that His choice to sleep in this storm signals a particular outcome. If He volunteered himself for the death penalty in my (our) place and in that way purchase for me life in all its fullness, then a little storm would not derail His grand plan. In fact, there is a fairly good chance that He has worked the storm into His grand plan to get us to the place we need to get to.
So what do we do about this sinking ship? Do we just keep playing our violins? Do we run around in a frenzy proclaiming doom and judgement causing everyone to panic? Or maybe deep inside the melee, below the thunder, inside of the fire and strong wind, in the eye of the storm there is a still small voice saying, “Peace be still.” The voice says, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” ISA 69:19
Brian Prince is passionate about sharing the incredible love and wisdom of God as a minister, coach, thinker and storyteller.
