WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’VE TRIED EVERYTHING (Back to Sunday School Series)

"Want to take the scenic route?" My husband suggests.

"Nope," I say. "Let's just get from Point A to Point B." 

That's my goal for any journey. Point A to Point B in a smooth, straight line.

So I pray against the bottlenecks, detours, flat tires and the empty gas gauge, believing the best way is not only direct but also obstacle-free.

But Jesus has another way to get us where we need to be. 

Jesus's disciples discovered this truth when they set out to row from Point A to Point B and ended up in a stormy sea. The story is found in John's Gospel, chapter 6. 

The disciples were scrappy like us. They wouldn't let a few waves rock their boat.

"We got this!" They may have bragged as the wind picked up.

But soon, soaked to the bone and blurry-eyed, those same men strained at the oars. The disciples lost their sense of direction as the waves rose higher.

A God-ordained trip should be easy. Had they misunderstood what Jesus said? Maybe they were doing it all wrong. 

Matthew's Gospel account tells us something eerily shifted on the horizon about 3 a.m.

3 a.m. in the middle of the storm. Isn't that when anxiety enters?

Lying awake in the darkness, you see something coming at you that you can't understand and assume you're doomed.

Then, you hear a familiar voice.

Jesus unexpectedly appears in your impossible place and says, "Don't be afraid. You know who I am." (v20, MSG)

He's been there all along. You were too focused on the oars to notice.

It’s time to decide.

Do you let the Lord in or keep trying to get there the only way you know how?

That night, the disciples unanimously voted to invite Jesus into their situation.

"Then they were willing to take him into the boat" (v21a)

No sooner did Jesus sit down than the disciples reached their Point B.

"And immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading." (v21b) 

When Jesus got in the boat, they immediately arrived because He was the intended destination, after all.

Jesus is the Point of every journey. 

When troubled waters come, don’t row harder. Let Jesus in.