“So the men marveled, saying, ’Who can this be, That even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” (Matthew 8:27)
Nicolas, Karina and Dennis were serving as volunteers at the Adventist College in Norway.
One weekend they were invited to visit a Cabin on a fjord in the western part of the country. As it was quite a ways away, they had to take a special boat. They would have to go up an arm of the fjord and come to a sort of canyon in the mountain. Early on Sunday morning, they began the trip back, and at first they found the water to be completely calm. But when they reached the arm of the fjord, there was a strong win.Their little boat was bouncing on the waves.
When they reached the main part of the fjord, they were much more exposed to the elements; the waves were nearly ten feet high, and very irregular. They had to turn to the right but the waves were coming from the left. It seemed almost certain that their boat was going to capsize.
They had reached the point of no return, and it was very difficult to maneuver the boat. The person who was steering was very experienced, but he had never seen such an angry sea.
What’s more, it was nearly wintertime, and the Water was extremely cold. They had life jackets, but if they fell into the water they would not live long at such frigid temperatures, nor would they be able to swim ashore.
There was no way for them to call for help. They all began to pray silently, and to encourage each other they began to sing a favorite hymn from the SDA Hymnal:
“The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will, Peace, be still!”
The young people felt completely helpless. They realized that there was nothing they could do to improve or change their situation.
Nicolas told me later that what he was most concerned about in those moments was thinking that perhaps his spiritual life was not in the best shape.
He spent some time praying and settling things with God.
He was ready for that to be the end, but he wanted to be at peace with God.
Finally he felt peace in spite of the dire situation.
Calm came to his heart, and then to the water also.
They arrived safely, though thoroughly soaked, and they had a modern version of the miracle to tell about.
“Unfortunately, all too often we have to get to an extreme situation like the one we were in before we figure out what is really important in life,” Nicolas said thoughtfully, as he told me the story.
Does something in the road ahead of you seem impossible? Do you think maybe God is giving you a chance to evaluate how things are between you and Him, and offering to fill you with His peace if you will let Him?
