Jesus Calms the Storm

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41

Jesus must have been the same type of sleeper as my wife. He could sleep through anything! There have been nights when my wife has fallen asleep on the couch, moved to her bed, listened to one of my stories, a big storm blew against the house, I banged around in the garage making noise, and she never knew any of it happened. Picture in your head the story in verses 35-41. Jesus had been teaching a crowd of people and the disciples were with him. The crowd was so large; Jesus had gotten into a boat and was floating around just off-shore so the crowd would not get too close. When night came they decided to go to the other side. Remember, these were small handmade boats, without a motor, and without any U.S. Coast Guard to save you if you had a problem. The verses say that a furious storm came up and the waves broke over the boat, but Jesus was in the front of the boat sleeping on a cushion. The disciples were in a panic and they woke Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet” Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. I wonder if Jesus woke up with the same attitude as my wife when she has to wake up unexpectedly?

I would have been like the disciples if I had been on that boat. I would have thought, I have been with Him for all this time, have watched Him perform hundreds of miracles, but now I am going to die in a storm and He is sleeping through the whole thing. Can you imagine a God that can calm the seas? Anytime I am at the beach I love to get up early and walk down to the ocean and just watch it for a while. I am always amazed at the force of the waves and how uncontrollable they are. We serve a God that can calm the waves of the largest ocean and the winds that cause them. Just like the disciples that were in that boat, we begin to wonder where is He when a storm suddenly appears and we are being blown from side to side. Is He sleeping? Has he forgotten about me? I have faith that He is not asleep and he certainly has not forgotten about me. I sometimes have to be reminded of His promise to never leave me.

I prayed today that all of us would trust God to work a miracle each time we are faced with a storm. When the winds seem to blow us off course, pray that He will not only calm the storm but also set us back on the path that He has charted for us.


Chad