Peace! Be Still!
Mark 4:37&38 CJB
37 A furious windstorm arose, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was close to being swamped.
38 But he was in the stern on a cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, "Rabbi, doesn't it matter to you that we're about to be killed?"
As a dad, one of the things I liked to do when my kids were little was watching them sleep. After a day of the pressures of being a young father with a family to support, I’d step into their room quietly and stand and watch them sleep. Sometimes they'd be propped up in weird positions, maybe sleeping at the foot of the bed or asleep on the floor because they rolled off the bed. I’m not sure why I watched them, but maybe it was because there was so much turmoil going on in my life and I hadn’t yet learned to let God’s peace flow through me. I refer to this time of my life as the “earthquake years.” But my kids blessed me many times because they were blissfully unaware of that turmoil and the concerns and pressures of the world around them. They didn't know about the economy or the rising energy prices or the struggles I had putting food on the table. They aren't trying to figure out a budget or how to vote in the next elections. They just played and laughed and at night slept peacefully. Why? Because they knew someone would take care of them. They knew Daddy cared for them.
I’ve read this Bible story many times and tried to imagine being with Jesus in the boat during that storm on a dark night. The winds are howling and the seas are raging. Waves are crashing up against the boat and splashing over the sides. I know I’d be feeling anxious, uncomfortable, and afraid. I’d look around and see that everyone else was as frantic and panicked as I was, and then I’d see Jesus. He's not performing a miracle, He's not teaching about how to stand strong through the storm. He's asleep. He’s sound asleep? (Did Jesus snore?) We’ve seen Jesus do some pretty incredible things, so we believe He can save us from this awful storm. He could, if He wasn’t SLEEPING!!!
So they woke Him. I’m sure they were in a panic because if you’ve ever been in a boat at sea in a storm you know it is scary. I was in a fishing boat during the daytime when a swift moving squall overtook us and it got dark and the waves got up and it was scary. I’d hate to have been in that fishing boat at night when that squall hit. The disciples woke Him, and they actually chastised Him. “Doesn't it matter to you that we're about to be killed?"
They should have been at peace just knowing they were with Jesus, but during life’s storms it’s easy to forget and become scared. Storms aren’t what we like to go through and certainly not what we expect, but they do seem to happen a lot. That’s when I’m facing something unexpected and unpleasant. Life is not going according to my plans. But I’m learning, little by little – crisis by crisis, is that as long as I am with Jesus, I can be at peace. I can rest, like He was, even in the middle of one of life’s storms. I can be at peace even when there is no peace around me, because the peace is within me.
When you’re going through the storm and it’s dark and you can’t see and you’re about to be overwhelmed by the wind and waves, it’s easy to forget that Jesus is there with you. I know you will get upset with God because it seems like the storm is getting worse and He’s not listening to your cries. I know you look up and can’t see the light because of the storm clouds over you. You need to look around that boat a little more carefully, because He's there. The Bible says that He’s a God that neither sleeps nor slumbers, (read Psalms 121.)
You can rest in the Prince of Peace today, He's right there with you. As long as you have Jesus in your boat, you’ll weather the storm.
Stephen Cram July 24, 2011 Colossians 2:8
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8
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