Mark 4:34 – 41: On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
This is such a famous passage. One that we often go to when going through life’s storms. In it, we can find solace that God is with us during our struggles and He will calm those angry seas. However, one day as reading this passage I saw things in a slightly different light. A light I hadn’t seen before.
The first thing that struck me is that Jesus and His disciples were moving forward, together. Duh right? “Let us cross over to the other side”. Jesus doesn’t want us to stay stagnant in our lives, nor does He want us to stay in our comfort zones. When we are not moving, we are not being challenged to grow. We can become complacent and ineffective in our walk with God unless we move beyond what we know, to a place we’re not yet familiar with. Yet, God never said that we would go alone. He said “Let us cross over to the other side”. He’ll gladly go with us.
I also noticed that the disciples perceived that Jesus was uncaring and not doing His part to help them through their storm.
“But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Luke 4:38 NKJV)
How many times have we asked that same question when going through trials? “Where are You Lord and why aren’t you helping me?” What we keep forgetting is that He said He was going to cross over with us. He already told the disciples they were going to get there. There is no question in His voice. No doubts in His sentence. All the disciples needed as a little faith.
Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. Have you ever wondered what if the disciples hadn’t doubted that they’d make it to the other side? What if they had “Fear(ed) Not”? When I read what the disciples asked Jesus, I can’t help but hear from a mother’s ear. I hear them whining and attempting to move Jesus to action by doubting His love for them. Yet, He still calmed the storm. How many times has God calmed our storms when we came to Him whining? What if we had trusted Him to begin with? Have you ever wondered if there may have been something even better at the end if Jesus had not intervened? The fact is we don’t always know what’s best. We struggle to see past the moment, and just as the storms are starting to get us out of our comfort zone, we run complaining to Daddy. Now, don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that God isn’t in our smaller struggles. He said He’d be with them right? I’m also not saying that you don’t go to God in prayer during our storms. God commands us to pray. We do not have because we do not ask. But maybe it’s what and how we ask that is the key to finding fulfillment. Because maybe, just maybe, we were meant to persevere to the end. Perhaps what lay at the other side was more valuable and better appreciated after getting a little wet.
Finally, I noticed that Jesus did more than calm the storm.
“Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39 NKJV)
Jesus (1) Rebuked the wind and (2) calmed the seas. The waves were not the storm, they were the consequence of the storm. When Jesus exclaimed “Peace, be still!” He silenced the resulting waves that kept the boat tossing about. Praise God! Let’s not look at this passage and say Jesus is just with us through our storm, let’s proclaim that Jesus is with us through the aftermath as well! There are times I deserve some waves, and I think sometimes God lets a few come crashing through. But I need to stay reminded He is there with me even then. And maybe, just maybe, when I ride out some of those waves, I’ll have something of value waiting for me on the other shore.
This is such a famous passage. One that we often go to when going through life’s storms. In it, we can find solace that God is with us during our struggles and He will calm those angry seas. However, one day as reading this passage I saw things in a slightly different light. A light I hadn’t seen before.
The first thing that struck me is that Jesus and His disciples were moving forward, together. Duh right? “Let us cross over to the other side”. Jesus doesn’t want us to stay stagnant in our lives, nor does He want us to stay in our comfort zones. When we are not moving, we are not being challenged to grow. We can become complacent and ineffective in our walk with God unless we move beyond what we know, to a place we’re not yet familiar with. Yet, God never said that we would go alone. He said “Let us cross over to the other side”. He’ll gladly go with us.
I also noticed that the disciples perceived that Jesus was uncaring and not doing His part to help them through their storm.
“But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Luke 4:38 NKJV)
How many times have we asked that same question when going through trials? “Where are You Lord and why aren’t you helping me?” What we keep forgetting is that He said He was going to cross over with us. He already told the disciples they were going to get there. There is no question in His voice. No doubts in His sentence. All the disciples needed as a little faith.
Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. Have you ever wondered what if the disciples hadn’t doubted that they’d make it to the other side? What if they had “Fear(ed) Not”? When I read what the disciples asked Jesus, I can’t help but hear from a mother’s ear. I hear them whining and attempting to move Jesus to action by doubting His love for them. Yet, He still calmed the storm. How many times has God calmed our storms when we came to Him whining? What if we had trusted Him to begin with? Have you ever wondered if there may have been something even better at the end if Jesus had not intervened? The fact is we don’t always know what’s best. We struggle to see past the moment, and just as the storms are starting to get us out of our comfort zone, we run complaining to Daddy. Now, don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that God isn’t in our smaller struggles. He said He’d be with them right? I’m also not saying that you don’t go to God in prayer during our storms. God commands us to pray. We do not have because we do not ask. But maybe it’s what and how we ask that is the key to finding fulfillment. Because maybe, just maybe, we were meant to persevere to the end. Perhaps what lay at the other side was more valuable and better appreciated after getting a little wet.
Finally, I noticed that Jesus did more than calm the storm.
“Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39 NKJV)
Jesus (1) Rebuked the wind and (2) calmed the seas. The waves were not the storm, they were the consequence of the storm. When Jesus exclaimed “Peace, be still!” He silenced the resulting waves that kept the boat tossing about. Praise God! Let’s not look at this passage and say Jesus is just with us through our storm, let’s proclaim that Jesus is with us through the aftermath as well! There are times I deserve some waves, and I think sometimes God lets a few come crashing through. But I need to stay reminded He is there with me even then. And maybe, just maybe, when I ride out some of those waves, I’ll have something of value waiting for me on the other shore.
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