“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?” Mark 4:37-38
What storm has arisen in your life as of late? Does it feel like the water is overtaking the sides of your life? Have you called upon the Lord in prayer for help? Do you believe even in the midst of this that the Lord is still in control?
What a scene this must have been. They had up to this point seen Jesus with their own eyes, cast out unclean spirits, heal Peter’s own mother-in-law, cleanse a leper, heal a man’s withered hand, & teach them about eternal wonderful truths. But now, God on human form has sent them to venture out in faith across the Sea of Galilee, knowing a Satanic Storm was rising. Would the disciples believe and trust that God was in control? Martin Luther, in the book Day by Day We, Magnify Thee says, “God’s wonderful works which happen daily are lightly esteemed, not because they are of no import but because they happen so constantly and without interruption. Man is used to the miracle that God rules the world and upholds all creation, and because things daily run their appointed course, it seems insignificant, and no man thinks it worth his while to meditate upon it and to regard it as God’s wonderful work, and yet it is a greater wonder than that Christ fed five thousand men with five loaves and made wine from water.”
Now, in the midst of the waves crashing over the shore of the boat, WHERE WAS JESUS? Scripture tells us here, he was in the belly of the ship, catching up on His sleep. In the midst of the turmoil, God wired things as such that it was the disciple’s responsibility to AWAKEN THE LORD. I see a beautiful picture here of prayer. C.S.Lewis said this on prayer, ”The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”
For the disciples, the storm raised hugely in their vantage point, but once they had awoken the SAVIOR and He was now standing on those wooden boards of the ship in the midst of the storm, everything, everything, everything was about to CHANGE. What about you? Have you awoken the Lord in your own life? Have you shared your heart with Him and cried out to Him? Is He standing beside you in the midst of the storm that you’re in? Jesus said here, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” Let the Lord loose in your life. Let Him be your Savior. Let Him speak to the impossible mounting circumstances and say, “Peace, be still.”
“I rest beneath the Almighty’s shade, My griefs expire, my troubles cease; Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed, Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.” Charles Wesley.
By His Spirit,
Pastor Bill