He Hath Brought Forth a Cushion

Maybe you’ve heard the “Jesus calms the storm” story before. But really think about it: Jesus gets in a boat with His disciples, and they take off across a big lake. They get hit by a big storm, everybody panics—except one guy, of course. The disciples find Him “sleeping on a cushion,” and they wake Him up, and He asks everybody, “Why are you so afraid?” and then He calms the storm (Mark 4).

I just checked, and it’s the only time “cushion” is mentioned in the sixty-six books of the Bible. What’s my takeaway here? I don’t know. Not everything has a takeaway, maybe. Or maybe Jesus usually packed His own cushion. My wife brings her pillow everywhere.

Jesus is showing the disciples something that, if we trust Him, will allow us to live a life in a wonderfully free way: Even if the ship goes down, we’ll be safe. If we are with Him, we’re safe. Death, itself, is not the last word.

The last word is joy.

Of course, there will be times when we should mourn. Yes, grief will visit us. Yes, pain is part of our existence. Yes, to all of that. But this will pass.

Jesus is giving us eternal life, and while most of us might think He’s talking about what starts after we’re dead, that’s not what He’s talking about at all. He’s talking about a quality of life available to us right now.

But what if it’s all going down? For real. Like everything is falling apart. What if the country falls to pieces? What if the evil people are winning? What if I lose everything? Shouldn’t I be anxious then?

Nope. No need.

Why? This God is good. I have to remind myself: I can trust Him. Really.

Pray

Lord, thank you that no trial or challenge I face is too much for you, and that I can count on you to calm the storm and be present with me in the boat. Amen!