Peace in the Storm, Victory at the Sea

 

‘Quiet! Be still’ – Mark 4:39

What do you do when you are suddenly hit by a storm? Do you often find yourself in a state of panic? Or do you turn to Jesus? Mark 4:35-41 illustrates the power of Jesus to calm the storms of life that often threaten to swallow us.

In Mark 4:35, when evening came, Jesus began by instructing his disciples, saying, ‘Let us go over to the other side,’ after spending most of the day teaching the crowd. As they were travelling by boat, ‘a furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.’ When all this was happening, Jesus was asleep in the boat. The disciples got terrified and decided to wake Jesus up. They said, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’

In life, challenges will always come against us in one way or another. How we decide to respond to them always makes the difference. It is interesting that the bible used the term ‘squall’ to describe the kind of storm that the disciples of Jesus encountered. A squall is a violent, short-lived storm that is usually accompanied by strong winds, thunder, rain, and lightning.

So, the disciples of Jesus were caught up in a storm that had violent things going on around them: thunder, strong winds, rain, and lighting. Does that ring a bell with you? There comes a time in life when suddenly all things start to fall apart. You have one problem to deal with, and before you are done dealing with that problem, another one pops up. When you look around, all you see are problems that have surrounded you, and you have nowhere to run and hide.

The disciples of Jesus were in the storm and they got terrified. They thought that the storm was going to drown them. The question is, why would they think that? Because they allowed fear to get into their hearts. What fear does is to magnify your problems while at the same time blocking your view of Jesus. Fear makes you forget about what God said by reminding you of your limitations. The disciples forgot that Jesus told them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’  Jesus didn’t say anything about going under. So, they magnified their problems more and forgot that the presence of God was right there with them.

So many time we’ve been at the same situation where the disciples were. When we’ve encountered storms of life, rather than turning to Jesus, who is right there in the boat with us, we allow fear to shout so loudly about how big the storms are, and our limitations to overcome them. We need to turn to Jesus when we are hit by a storm. When Jesus woke up, the first word he said was, ‘Quiet!’

Here is something we can learn from Jesus: To quiet the voices of fear and doubt in our minds. The mind is the first point the enemy will try to attack. And if it is unguarded, the enemy will take advantage of that and control you. Colossians 3:2, ‘Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.’ Fear, anxiety, and worry are things which are below; faith and trusting in God are things above.

The next thing Jesus says is, ‘Be still.’ When you find yourself in the storm, rather than letting it trouble you, you can tell your heart to be still. A troubled heart is like a leaking ship; sooner or later, it will sink. Jesus is teaching us that it is possible to let your heart be still, even if there are stormy winds and thunders all around you. Sheila Walsh writes, ‘Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ in the midst of it all.’ When Christ is in your story or in your storm, you can find peace in your heart that transcends all understanding and still go through the storm, for there’s no storm that can swallow the boat that Christ is in it.

In the Old Testament, Exodus 14:14, Moses answered the people, saying, ‘The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.’ This was at a time when the Israelites had left Egypt, and they stopped by the Red Sea. Looking at their situation, on one side, the Egyptian armies were coming against them, and on the other, the Red Sea was right in front of them, with nowhere to run to. Rather than trusting in God, they were afraid and grumbled before God.

Moses replied, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today…The LORD will fight for you; you only need to be still.’ – Exodus 14:13-14.

Sometimes we need to be still and trust in God and let Him do what only He can do. It was God who led the Israelites out of Egypt and directed them through the wilderness by the pillar of clouds during the day and the pillar of fire during the night. God certainly knew there was the Red Sea ahead of them even before they got there, and yet He chose to lead them towards it. Why? Sometimes God will lead you to the edge of the Red Sea, only to show you how Great and Mighty His power can be.

The battles that you are fighting, the raging sea, the armies of Pharaoh, or the Red Sea that seem to block your path to victory didn’t come into your life as a surprise to God. He already had a foreknowledge about it and prepared solutions in advance. So, what does that tell you? You are fighting a battle that God has already won. What’s left for you to do concerning your battles? Stand firm, be still, and trust in God.

The parting and crossing of the Red Sea and the calming of the storm is other ways of God showing us that He specializes in making the ‘impossible’ seem like nothing. The troubles which you are facing that the enemy has made look like mountains before you, God will level them. You need not be afraid of the storms of life, but only to be still and trust in God. He’s in the same boat with you. If He doesn’t calm the storm, He promises to walk with you through it. So, be still and stand firm and you will see the deliverance of the LORD will bring you today.