"Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His disciples:and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed He fell asleep:and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water:and they ceased, and there was a calm. And He said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for He commandeth even the winds and waters, and they obey Him" (Luke 8:22-25).

The Lord let them be in jeopardy, the ship filled with water and Himself asleep, on purpose to put their faith to the test, to prove if they were really trusting Him, and that it might be seen if such foolish thoughts would arise when they were put into jeopardy. They say, "Master, we perish"; but they were in the ship with Christ, and could they be drowned? He said to them, "Where is your faith?" Well might He say thus to them, for though the water was in the boat, He was there too, and could sleep through it all. It was not so much of Him they were thinking as of themselves. "We perish" (said they), and it is just the same now; for the fact of being in danger with Christ in the boat is the same at one time as at another_ just as impossible then as now; and in truth Christ is much more with us now, being more perfectly revealed to us, and we are united to Him, one with Him, so that He is with us every moment in the power of the Spirit.

However high the waves may rise, there is no drowning His love and thoughts towards us. The test is to our faith. The question is, Have we that faith which so realizes Christ’s presence as to keep us as calm and composed in the rough sea as in the smooth? It was not really a question of the rough or the smooth sea when Peter was sinking in the water, for he would have sunk, without Christ, just as much in the smooth as in the rough sea. The fact was, the eye was off Jesus and on the wave, and that made him sink. As we go on with Christ, we shall get into all kinds of difficulty, many a boisterous sea; but being one with Him, His safety is ours. The eye should be off events, although they be ever so solemn, and surely they are so at this present time, and I feel them to be so; for none perhaps has a deeper sense than I of the growth of the evil and of the solemn state of things; but I know all is as settled and secure as if the whole world were favorable. I quite dread the way many dear saints are looking at events, and not looking at Christ and for Christ. The Lord Himself is the security of His people, and, let the world go on as it may, no events can touch Christ. We are safe on the sea if only we have the eye off the waves, with the heart concentrated on Christ and on the interests of Christ. Then the devil himself cannot touch us.

FRAGMENT "And [David] became a captain over them. . . . And David said . . . Abide with me, fear not; for he that seeks my life seeks thy life; for with me thou art in safe keeping" (I Sam. 22:2,22,23, JND).