De-Briefing In The Boat (Mark 4:35-41 And Matt. 10)
The preacher said, “Once Jesus preached
Along the shore, down by the beach,
And when He’d done, He said, ‘Let’s ride,
We’re going to the other side’.“There always is another side
For each of us – we’d rather hide
Than follow Him into that boat,
For storms en-route are not a joke.“Besides, we just got set up here,
And starting out would just appear
To others as ‘not cool’, you see;
So please don’t say, ‘Come, follow Me’.“But then again, we said we would;
No room for shoulda-woulda-could
With Him; so (sigh) I guess it’s now
My turn to push off land from bow.“Well, sure enough, up comes this storm;
We’d said, ‘Hey, Jesus, You look worn,
So take a nap here in the stern;
We’ll handle this, this much we’ve learned’.“We saw at once our big mistake,
With all those small boats in our wake,
Far out beyond our depth we were;
We called on Him, ‘It’s death for sure!’.“He grinned and said to wind, ‘Back off!’
Then spoke to waves from crest to trough,
‘Now quiet down, God's Spirit's here
In Me, I want to make that clear’.“Then calm returned inside and out;
We asked if He’d direct our route,
And we would do the work for Him;
New trip we then could each begin.“We rowed, He asked, ‘What say you, guys?
How will you other folks advise
When you go out and teach The Way
Amidst such storms in coming day?’“One said, ‘We first must crowd forsake’;
‘Ensure it’s Jesus that you take
With you – don’t alter – as He is,
And let Him do directing biz’.“Another said, ‘Those smaller craft
Who follow us, both fore and aft,
Were watching how all this transpired;
By smiles, I’d say Christ You’re admired’.“ ‘For months’, one said, ‘You’ve worked away
So storm inside me day by day
Would go – today it’s gone some more;
I think You always knew the score –“ ‘That storms are part of life sometimes,
But best the inner storms we mind
Before all hell breaks on our craft,
Lest each must fight both fore and aft’.“ ‘You calmed the wind and waves today,
For me as well, and I must say,
You calmed the storm which raged within;
Today a new life I begin’.“ ‘I don’t know if you sensed that storm –
You did not heed when You were warned;
You stepped aside so we could drive –
Came back when called – now we’re alive!’ ”Then Jesus said, “Another day
You’ll feel the wind another way –
While there forsake the crowd and ride
Your boat across to other side –“For people make a fearsome chop;
They'll fill the air with endless talk,
Designed to raise an awful storm;
I’m in the bow – and you’ve been warned.”navigation