What Floats Your Boat?
Title: What Floats Your Boat?
Text: Mark 4:35-41
Storms have a way of revealing what we truly trust in. When the waters are calm, it is easy to feel secure in what surrounds us: friends, success, business, or even our own strength and health. But when the storm arises, those same things are often found to be insufficient.
The Multitude
In Mark 4, the disciples entered into a storm that they could not control. Before the storm, there were multitudes, crowds of people following Jesus. When the storm came, those multitudes were nowhere to be found because the disciples had sent them away. This is the reality of life.
Many are drawn to the multitude of friends, freedom, or finances, but these cannot rescue you when the storm hits. The same crowd that once followed Christ later cried, “Crucify him.” If given the choice, it is always better to send the multitude away and take Jesus as he is.
The Movement
Then there is movement. The disciples were moving because Jesus told them to go to the other side. But not all movement is necessarily good movement or movement that can get you to where you need to be. Jonah moved, but in rebellion.
In our day, many are caught up in religious movements, trends, and systems. Yet, movement without God’s action or direction is dangerous. Some wait for a movement before they act, as in John 5, where some waited for the water to be troubled before they moved. But the child of God should not wait on trends, feelings, or external forces to move them; he should move when God's word moves him, and in the direction God's Spirit leads.
Motivation
Motivation is another unstable foundation. Many are driven by external influence—emotion, excitement, or encouragement. Churches have become places of motivation (e.g., pep rallies) rather than a place of conviction or instruction through the word of God. Feelings change, and people come and go. If your walk depends solely on motivation, you will eventually stop moving. True motivation must come from a love for Jesus Christ and a life led by the Spirit
Mankind
Man is often placed at the center of everything. Human ability, intellect, and effort are praised as the solution to life’s problems. The Bible is clear, “man at his best state is altogether vanity.” (Psalm 39:5).
The disciples learned this firsthand. Their experience, strength, and effort could not calm the storm. Jesus was no ordinary man. His name is above every name, his mediation between God and man is unmatched, and his love is unlike any other. He is not merely a man—He is the Master.
Master
And that brings us to the most important truth: the Master was in the ship. The presence of Jesus did not prevent the storm, but it guaranteed they would not perish in it. When all else failed, when the multitudes were gone, movement was powerless, motivation was exhausted, and man was helpless—the disciples turned to the Master, and with three simple words, “Peace, be still,” everything changed. The storm did not respond to the disciples, but it responded to the Master.
The question remains: what floats your boat? When the storm comes, what are you trusting in? Because at the end of the day, you need the Master to calm your storm and keep your boat afloat.
Text: Mark 4:35-41
Storms have a way of revealing what we truly trust in. When the waters are calm, it is easy to feel secure in what surrounds us: friends, success, business, or even our own strength and health. But when the storm arises, those same things are often found to be insufficient.
The Multitude
In Mark 4, the disciples entered into a storm that they could not control. Before the storm, there were multitudes, crowds of people following Jesus. When the storm came, those multitudes were nowhere to be found because the disciples had sent them away. This is the reality of life.
Many are drawn to the multitude of friends, freedom, or finances, but these cannot rescue you when the storm hits. The same crowd that once followed Christ later cried, “Crucify him.” If given the choice, it is always better to send the multitude away and take Jesus as he is.
The Movement
Then there is movement. The disciples were moving because Jesus told them to go to the other side. But not all movement is necessarily good movement or movement that can get you to where you need to be. Jonah moved, but in rebellion.
In our day, many are caught up in religious movements, trends, and systems. Yet, movement without God’s action or direction is dangerous. Some wait for a movement before they act, as in John 5, where some waited for the water to be troubled before they moved. But the child of God should not wait on trends, feelings, or external forces to move them; he should move when God's word moves him, and in the direction God's Spirit leads.
Motivation
Motivation is another unstable foundation. Many are driven by external influence—emotion, excitement, or encouragement. Churches have become places of motivation (e.g., pep rallies) rather than a place of conviction or instruction through the word of God. Feelings change, and people come and go. If your walk depends solely on motivation, you will eventually stop moving. True motivation must come from a love for Jesus Christ and a life led by the Spirit
Mankind
Man is often placed at the center of everything. Human ability, intellect, and effort are praised as the solution to life’s problems. The Bible is clear, “man at his best state is altogether vanity.” (Psalm 39:5).
The disciples learned this firsthand. Their experience, strength, and effort could not calm the storm. Jesus was no ordinary man. His name is above every name, his mediation between God and man is unmatched, and his love is unlike any other. He is not merely a man—He is the Master.
Master
And that brings us to the most important truth: the Master was in the ship. The presence of Jesus did not prevent the storm, but it guaranteed they would not perish in it. When all else failed, when the multitudes were gone, movement was powerless, motivation was exhausted, and man was helpless—the disciples turned to the Master, and with three simple words, “Peace, be still,” everything changed. The storm did not respond to the disciples, but it responded to the Master.
The question remains: what floats your boat? When the storm comes, what are you trusting in? Because at the end of the day, you need the Master to calm your storm and keep your boat afloat.
Posted in Believing, Faith, Fear, Obedience, Peace, Prayer, Scripture, Storms, Trusting God, Words of God
Posted in storms, Trusting God, faith, Faithfulness, peace
Posted in storms, Trusting God, faith, Faithfulness, peace
Recent
Archive
2026
January
March
2025
November
No Comments