The storm was raging, the boat was being tossed, waves were coming in, and the disciples were bailing water and trying to stay afloat.  This was their reality at that moment.  Facts screamed that it was a dire situation worthy of worry, fear, and panic.  Meanwhile, Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat.

The reality of the moment was so strong that the men awakened Jesus and were upset that He was sleeping.

Mark 4:36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

They haven’t been with Jesus for a long time yet. However, they have witnessed His power and have just seen a great miracle and been part of it.  They’re still getting to know Him, and now the test of a desperate situation is upon them.  However, their knowing Him is still developing.

I can’t help but think, was Jesus having a good dream while He was asleep?

Do we actually think He would have been asleep and dreamless?

One thing is for certain: the imagination of Jesus was not like that of His disciples at that moment.  Their imaginations had them perishing.  In their imaginations, the boat was going to sink, and they were going to drown.  Their imaginations were driven by their reality in the natural.  Jesus was unaffected by what was happening factually at that moment.  His imagination was in another place.

We can know what faith is because the Bible teaches us what it is and what it looks like.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance (Assurance, confidence, concretely, essence) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is not based on the facts in the present.  Faith is concretely confident and assured, to the point of affecting one’s emotions and outlook.  It overrides the facts of a moment and a situation and looks forward to the possibility of the hope that is in the heart.  It sees things differently than they currently appear.  When faith is activated as it should be, it activates speak.

2 Corinthians 4:13   And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,

Faith is not speaking to convince oneself of something.  It is speaking because one is already convinced even though the object of hope is not seen yet.  I’ve never seen heaven, nor have I been there bodily, yet I believe and speak of it as though I have, and the truth is I am seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  I am there by faith in Him.  The source of faith is a person, and the more I know Him, the more my faith increases.  Jesus is loving, good, great, powerful, merciful, and willing.

Is your boat presently sinking under the crashing waves?  Will you choose to try to bail the water in hopes you can do it faster than the waves are coming in?  or will you choose to place your hope in Jesus and begin to imagine an outcome based on His love and goodness towards you?  We have a choice; the path of faith can seem silly and ridiculous to those who think of themselves as sensible and intellectual enough to see what they call reality.  But to those of us who believe in things not yet seen but hoped for, faith is powerful because it rests in the One who is faithful.