The Christ Power in a Storm at Sea

John Lupher shares how sailing in a storm at night awoke in him the desire and commitment to learn more about the Christ power and spiritual confidence that calmed the sea

By John Lupher

Categories: Fear, Guidance, Jesus (Healings), Safety

Often, in life there is a moment, usually while facing tough or dangerous human conditions, that forces us onto a higher spiritual path.

I had one of those moments in college. I was with my brother sailing off the coast of Mexico on the Gulf, when a cold front slammed into us. It was a two-night cross before getting to Galvaston, TX. With only two not very experienced sailors on the boat, it was challenging to keep everything together. In the middle of the storm, we lost the cable and rudder system, so the boat was drifting in 40-mile-hour winds and 8-10-foot seas and building.

It was a mad minute (which seemed a lifetime) of: we’ve got to do something now to fix this thing! We went through all the human steps of how to rig the boat. We secured the rudder with lashing to keep heading into the wind. Ok, that improved our odds at surviving, but it was night, and we had hours and hours to go to wait out the storm in a boat that was nominally strapped together.

I was on watch while my brother tried to get sleep. I was sitting there in the pouring rain trying to keep the boat heading into the wind, and I started thinking about Jesus calming the Sea of Galilee. I developed a longing to learn more about the Christ power that calmed the sea. This was the moment that awoke me to the realization of how much further I had to grow spiritually to master not only the situation, but myself as well. I felt like I was at the whim of the turbulence and wind, both physically and emotionally. I yearned for spiritual confidence.

From that moment on, I realized it was time for me to dig deeper to learn how Jesus was able to calm the sea. What were the attributes and aspects of his thought that were so calming, so effective? Where did his power and presence come from, and could I express even a fraction of it? When the sun finally did come up, I was surprised at how big the waves were. We had survived some huge swells while I was in the dark. With my spiritual goals in the forefront of my mind, I watched as the rest of the day got calmer and calmer, and we made it into port fine.

This experience was when I made the commitment to grow as a student of the Bible and Jesus’ teachings. I truly wanted to be able to apply scriptural truths, which I had learned growing up in Sunday school, to my life so that I could meet and master tough situations.

Since then I’ve had various other encounters in the ocean and offshore, and I’ve always felt I’ve been attuned spiritually, even though to human sense it looked bleak. That spiritual awareness of the power of the Christ allows you to be unconditionally happy even in the midst of those situations. If you can be happy while the rain is running down your face and the rudder is out, then you know that the Christ is speaking at those moments. And that happiness that comes from spiritual awareness and not human conditions is what I strive for in life.

This unconditional happiness has made John a very successful entrepreneur. Learn more.