The Sea Spoke To Me

When I first planned my trip to Israel, my excitement was for a number of things. Firstly, I was excited to see the actual places and land Jesus walked. Growing up in a Christian home, you read about the stories in the bible, you hear about the miracles and works Jesus had performed, but it was always with the use of imagination. I always pictured in my head what Nazareth, Galilee, & Bethlehem looked like, but I could not wait to see it first-hand and really imagine the Bible in a new way. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Jesus calming the storm.

In Luke 8 it reads “One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. ²⁴ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵ “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

In my own life (and all of our lives), we constantly have storms and trials that arise in our lives. We sometimes worry and are afraid of what to do, and when the boat is rocking we tend to panic and run frantically trying to find a solution. When I stood on the Sea of Galilee in Israel for the first time, I could see the entirety of the sea from the East bank to the West. I could picture a boat in a storm, and felt the wind blowing. This land, this water, this place; it’s exactly where Jesus asked a simple question of “where is your faith?” Seeing that in real life brought me back with a sense of hope and strength. To know that no matter what the storm, if I just look to Jesus he will provide me comfort. The storms will come, as they always do, but when I learn to place my trust in Him, I can ride the storm out knowing everything will be ok. Israel, what a place to experience, and a real place to see the Bible come to life.

Simeon Kumar