IS JESUS ASLEEP IN YOUR BOAT
When it comes to abiding in the LORD’s peace, His peace is a “supernatural peace” — being a peace that WILL most assuredly “guard our hearts and minds” (Philippians 4:7). Which makes it the kind of peace that we not only all need now, but which we will need even more as we come to the end of this age. For at the end of this age, the harvest field will bring forth every good seed as well as every evil seed that has been sown in the fields of the hearts of men — being an age where evil like never before shall be upon us! A time where darkness will be at its very darkest, and the light at its most brightest.
And this we all already know. For this age was spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 13 with the parable of “the tares and the wheat”, where BOTH good and evil seeds will grow side-by-side each other unto maturity in the very same field. And of this phenomenon, Jesus said: “Let BOTH grow together UNTIL THE HARVEST, and AT THE TIME OF HARVEST, I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”” (Matthew 13:30).
Therefore, in the face of the daunting trials we will see during the end times, as well as the manifestation of the worst evil to ever disgrace and pollute the world, being that time prophesied of where there will be “a great falling away” within the body (2 Thessalonians 2:3), where even “the elect” shall sadly be deceived (Matthew 24:24), entering the glorious Sabbath peace of our great LORD will be absolutely essential in order to not only still our minds and settle our hearts, but to safeguard us from being of those who fall away.
As such, entering this Sabbath peace will be tantamount to “the peace” and equal to “the refuge” of entering the covenant safety of the Ark — being the Ark of Christ Jesus, the God-ordained preservation pre-purposed ahead of time for safeguarding all those who genuinely abide in Christ, and Christ in them, from being overcome by “the waves of the end times” (being a pattern of the great flood). Just like the Ark was pre-purposed by God ahead of the great flood for Noah. As such, entering “the living Jerusalem” of His Ark of peace will also be part of the greatest glory the world will have ever seen. And this side-by-side manifestation of both the greatest glory together with the worst evil in “the field of the world” is so that what has been prophesied can be fulfilled. Which is: “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matthew 7:16).
And of this age, this will be a time when everything will be magnified. Both the WORST EVIL and the GREATEST GLORY. Which will, ultimately, then also help the reapers accomplish their end time work. For it was with this great vision in mind that when the Owner of the field was asked by His servants if they should go and gather up all the weeds, that the Owner of the field said: “Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.” (Matthew 13:29). For He knew there was coming a time when His winnowing fork would need to clear “the field of the world” of all the chaff so that the storehouses of His Father may be full of wheat (Matthew 3:12).
With this in mind, in the life lesson that is the account of the disciples crossing over the Sea of Galilee in a fishing boat, the Lord seeks to prepare our hearts ahead of time to receive one of the great promises God has in store for all those who not only live and move and have their being in Christ (Acts 17:28), but who also find their complete rest in Him. For is the Sabbath not our complete rest? And does Hebrews not tell us that Jesus alone is our Sabbath rest? “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:9–11).
The big question for us, though, is that when we find ourselves staring down the face of very rough seas, where will Jesus be? Will He even be in our boat, for a start? But more importantly, what will He be doing? Will He be awake and taking the helm of the boat of our lives? Which is what He does for all those who take up their cross and follow Him, thus making Him also “their Lord”, and not just “their Saviour”. Which, as for Paul, is when we have, therefore, made every effort to enter that rest. Or will He be consigned to the background of our lives somewhere, effectively asleep, at the back of the boat, as was the case for the disciples, when our great time of need suddenly comes upon us like a thief in the night?
In other words, do we need to first wait until peril is right upon us and beating down our door before we invite Jesus to the helm of our lives? Or, as with those who live and move and have their entire being in Christ, being those who have made Him LORD of all, being those who are led by His Spirit, can we enter that deep rest now? Before the flood comes? Can we live and walk in the Sabbath rest of the Lord of Peace knowing that: “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace“? (Exodus 14:14).
Which is a covenant promise of peace that surpasses all understanding that tells us that, yes, like for David and other sons of God, we WILL still face battles. For why else would the LORD then need to fight for you? But instead of us being overcome by the waves of life, with Jesus now at the helm, which is with Jesus as LORD, and through Christ fighting for us by both “rebuking the wind” and “commanding the waves to be still”, we shall not only overcome...
...But we shall all HOLD OUR PEACE!
