For instance, I wondered, How often have I let Jesus sleep so long as the sea was calm?

I am afraid that too often I have treated Jesus like a life preserver or a fire extinguisher -- something you keep around in case you need it but that you don't bother with until it's needed.

Too often, as Christians we take our faith and our relationship with God for granted. An ancient saying suggests that "familiarity breeds contempt." While our familiarity with Jesus may not breed contempt, it very often breeds apathy and deadness. W. S. Handley Jones has aptly described how we often get:

Too well, O Christ, we know thee; on our eyes

There sits a film, through which we dimly see,

Of frozen faith and stagnant memory.2

When we as Christians let our relationship with Jesus lapse during times of calm, we are putting our spiritual well-being in serious jeopardy. Our faith is like a muscle: if it is not used, atrophy sets in.

The adventurer Harry Pidgeon circled the globe in a small sailboat. Once, during an interview, he asked, "Do you know the most dangerous thing a man sailing alone has to face?" The interviewer responded, "I suppose storms and rocks."

"You're wrong," Pidgeon said. "It wasn't storms I was afraid of; but the clear, calm weather when a good breeze was blowing. In a gale when a man goes on deck, he holds fast to something, for he knews he might fall overboard; but in fair weather he's apt to walk around the deck without thinking. Then a little roll of the boat can throw him overboard and he is lost."3

That's exactly what sometimes happens to us. When the storm is raging, we hold fast to Jesus, but when the weather is fair, when things are calm, we forget to hold on. We walk around self-confidently. In that situation, it doesn't take much of a bump to throw us for a loop. I am afraid that there have been times when I, like the disciples, have left Jesus alone when things were calm.

But as I read the story, I also wondered, How often have I reacted in anger when the storms have hit?

Perhaps you will remember that a number of years ago two prominent movie stars died in separate alcohol-related accidents. William Holden died in a drunken fall, hitting his head on a table. Natalie Wood drowned when she fell into the ocean from her yacht.

A friend who was close to both of them, actress Stephanie Powers, was quoted in the newspapers as saying: "Two of my best friends are gone; how can a God who is supposed to be kind and loving allow this to happen?"4

Even those of us who are Christians sometimes react in anger to the storms of life. In spite of the fact that we know we are all liable to fall prey to the infirmities that are common to all flesh, deep down inside we seem to think that an exception will be made in our case.

I admit that there have been times when, in the midst of trials and tribulations, I have reacted in anger. "Why me?" I have wanted to know. "What did I do to deserve this?" I have demanded. Just like the disciples in that boat, I have screamed at God: "I'm drowning! Don't you care?"