A few years ago, my friend, Bud, and I went out on the Potomac River south of Washington, D. C.  Our intention was to go down river a few miles to a crab house, but the wind became so strong that we could not dock safely at the crab house, so we decided to return to the marina.  The Potomac widens to about three miles in this area, so the wind has room to kick up.   Our boat is a cruiser with a flying bridge and a canvas Bimini, so there is sufficient bulk for the wind to impact the steerage of the boat.  We estimated the wind at 35 to 40 miles per hour with white caps everywhere. 

I said to Bud, a good Christian brother, that we needed to start praying because the wind would hit us broadside as soon as we started to turn into the alleyway of the marina, causing us to crash into the boats adjacent to our slip.  We started praying, “Lord Jesus, you calmed the wind and waves on the Sea of Galilee; calm these winds. (Luke8:22-25)   The wind did not abate.   I asked Bud to go down to the stern with a boat hook (pole) to try to keep us from being blown into other boats.  We both kept praying, “Jesus, calm the wind, Jesus calm the wind!”  The wind kept blowing. 

As we approached the alleyway, I told Bud, “I need to come in fast to control the boat in the wind.”  I was so focused on controlling the boat and yelling instructions at Bud, I didn’t notice what was happening.  Bud yelled back, “Bill, the wind has stopped!” I proceeded into the alleyway, pivoted the boat, and backed into the slip without any difficulty.  As soon as we tied up and secured everything, the wind resumed its fury.

There are many ways we can experience high winds in life – a spouse or child who is critically ill, the loss of a job, a life-threatening illness, a boss who cannot be satisfied, a child who struggles making friends, the backbiting of a competitive work colleague, the birth of a child with a disability, a tax deficiency notice from the IRS — the list is long and varied.  Jesus is available to calm the high winds, whatever form they take. 

Do you call on Jesus when you encounter the high winds in your life?