Thornwell August Devotional – Holy Naps

Every summer our cottages take a multi-day trip to Garden City Beach. An entire week filled with sand, waves, and touristy paraphernalia is divided between our girls and boys, along with their respective teaching parents and support staff (aka me).

The beach trip is a great opportunity to dig into relationships, make memories, and lean into deeper discussions. Theology, especially, seems to flourish at the beach. Conversations about God and perspective are natural consequences of looking over a horizon of endless water as your feet sink into wet sand. This sea was familiar territory to most of the disciples – and it was the environment Jesus chose for a significant amount of his teaching.

On our most recent trip, I shared the following passage from Mark 4:35-40 with our residents. In it, Jesus leaves the beach and decides to cross the sea, inviting his disciples to come with Him:

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” ³⁶ So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. ³⁸ He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

While I shared this with our residents a week or so ago, God showed me something I had never considered before: the disciples missed out on a great nap. And what’s more, we might be missing out on some great naps.

Look closely at the passage and you will see Mark providing a stark contrast for his readers: Jesus, napping blissfully vs. the disciples, absolutely panicking.

Jesus was able to sleep through a storm that caused veteran fishermen to fear for their lives because Jesus’ stated purpose was to “cross over to the other side of the sea.” God’s will was revealed to the disciples as they stepped onto the boat, and that will was not subject to category 5 winds or rain.

From the disciples’ perspective, their reaction was rational and valid – their senses and lived experience told them they were in imminent danger. They woke Jesus, questioning him in an accusing tone, suggesting He either did not care about them or was too ignorant to understand the situation. Only to immediately be proven wrong.

Although Jesus tells the wind and the waves to be silent, it is hard not to believe those words weren’t also meant for the disciples… and probably us, too.

There are so many occasions in my life where I have begged God to fix a situation. I waited and waited on Jesus to wake up and tell everything to quiet down. Looking back, Jesus and His peace were available, I just didn’t have the faith to rest in it. I refused to take a nap. I missed out!

As we strive to follow God’s calling on our lives and abide within His will, let’s remember that the challenges that will come cannot overtake the peace Jesus has given us.

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.” – John 14:27