On the first Tuesday in April, thunder storms and tornadoes slammed their way across northeast Texas. My daughter and I huddled in her living room, just north of Dallas, with my new grandson, anxiously watching the weather to know if we needed to take shelter. At his office in Arlington, my son-in-law and his co-workers were sent to a “safe area” while a tornado devastated that area of the metropolis.
Today, I thought again of our anxious moments when I read about Jesus and His fearful disciples. They were crossing the Sea of Galilee when a “furious squall came up.” Jesus slept soundly in the stern, but the Twelve were terrified:
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41
I’ve read this passage many times and every time my first thought is: “I’d be afraid too!” But then God reminds me of the truth that Jesus tried to teach them. The waves may have been breaking over the side of the boat, but the maker of the waves was in the boat. It merely seemed that the storm had the upper hand. In fact, Jesus was so confident in His power over the storm He could sleep while it benignly blustered.
This lesson is particularly applicable to my life today. I feel like I am hanging onto the sides of the boat while the storm rages around me. Yet I continuously remind myself that Jesus commands the storm. “Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” So I tune my ears and wait to hear, “Peace, be still!”
What storm rages around you today that seems to have the upper hand?
Who is more powerful than this – and every – turbulent circumstance of life?
I really need to read this today. I too have read the passage many times, but it is very calming today.
I know that Jesus is with me through the storms; I need to be reminded about it daily. Thank you for posting this today.