On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:35-41 ESV
We are currently doing a Sermon Series about Jesus being our center. As I was reading a devotion and looking up a reference, I was led to today’s account and as I read it, God revealed things to me I never saw before. And it left me with one of those Aha Moments of life.
To set the scene up, the men had recently been selected by Jesus to be His disciples. But they had followed Him recently long enough to see Him heal and even raise the dead, so they knew there was something special about Him. Now getting into a boat was routine for those who were fishermen and a fairly regular occurance for the others. Notice, He didn’t just drift off to sleep, it was purposeful because He found a pillow to use. He obviously was at peace.
Because there were experienced fishermen on the boat and violent storms were known to develop quickly, I’m sure they could tell a storm was coming. So instead of relaxing they were becoming anxious and for experienced fishermen to become fearful it must have been one doozy of a windstorm! They waited as long as they could and then frantically woke Jesus up from a peaceful sleep. He calmly got up and spoke to the wind and waves and commanded them to be peaceful and still, it was, and there was calm.
He asked why they were afraid and still had no faith, because He was with them. He was in the boat with them, they could see Him, touch Him and yet they were terrified! Even after they saw people healed and someone raised from the dead! But honestly, wouldn’t most of us reacted the same way? Here’s where the revelation came. Jesus was with them, but they really weren’t with Him, they called Him into their situation and of course He responded and not only went to them but dealt with the issue. This is where we usually are, in a situation or circumstance where fear, stress and anxiety are overtaking us and we call on Him to help and of course He always does. But what if Jesus was challenging them asking why they were afraid, because He wanted them to be with Him, peaceful and resting while the chaos raged.
How much discomfort, fear and anxiety would we avoid if we were with Jesus in the center of His peace and calm always? This is more than possible, since Jesus lives inside of us. We just need to remember that and the promise He made in John 14:20, “When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.” And when we do, we will always experience peace and calm not only in the midst of the storm, but always.
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