I was reading
from Mark 4 today. The disciples find themselves in the midst of a powerful
storm. In fact, if their anxiety level was rated on a scale of one to ten, they
were probably at a ten. They were afraid they would not live. Jesus saved them
by an act of mighty power. Mark, chapter 4:
"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!'"
The story first draws us the
obvious point that storms come along sometimes. There was probably nothing
unusual about the storm itself. Storms were known to come over the lake, Lake
Galilee, or the Sea of Galilee. Several of the disciples were fishermen. They
knew what fear was like, and even had some skill in dealing with it. It is also
true that we all face storms in our lives. Experiencing them is universal.
Nobody escapes them all. Storms come.
Note also that Jesus doesn't
protect them - his followers - from the storm. There was no bubble of safety
around the disciples at this moment keeping them dry and secure. Some people try
to tell us that good Christians don't get caught in storms. They insist that as
Christians, we won't get laid off, or if we do get laid off, we're going to find
another job immediately. They insist that If we're Christians, we won't have
serious illnesses, chronic illnesses, or emotional problems. They say that
nothing will touch us. It's just not true. The disciples, in this story, were
wet, exhausted, and afraid, fearing for their lives. Jesus, who commanded the
storm, was in the boat with them, but they still got wet, and they still became
very afraid.
In fact, the disciples were in
the boat in the storm because of Jesus. Recall also that some of those disciples
were not fishermen. This might have been the first time they were in a boat, and
they were in this particular boat on this night in this place because Jesus
said, verse 35, "Let us go over to the other side." It is possible that even the
fishermen might not have gone out on a night quite like this, or, if they did go
out, maybe they would have stayed closer to shore. Regardless, they were in the
middle of this place, in the storm, specifically because Jesus said, "Let us go
over to the other side." Sometimes we face storms because we follow
Jesus.
The apostle Paul faced his own
set of shipwrecks, and he faced his own storms. Paul clung on pieces of a ship
because he followed Jesus. Alec and K C Bersch faced an earthquake, and they're
staying in Haiti in all of that hardship that follows because they follow
Jesus.
Our missionary friend Dave
Coles preached in our church this month. He told us that there are Muslims in
certain countries who are becoming Christians, and many of them lose their jobs,
lose their families, and some even lose their lives, because of following Jesus.
Jesus, who commands storms, commands us into some storms we would never have to
face if we were just normal folk. Storms come.
Disciples asked
Jesus, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" It was a great question since
Jesus, who commands the storm, is in the boat with them, and he seems to be
doing nothing about it, and their question to him is, "Don't you care? We're
going to die here!" Their big question mirrors our own questions in our own
storms. "God, don't you care?" Jesus then answered their need. He stood and gave a
command, "Quiet! Be still!" At no point were the disciples more than three
English words from the total solution to their problem. Jesus commanded the
storm, and he totally controlled the outcome.
"O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them."
The one in the boat with the
disciples, the one in the storm with them, was the Lord God Almighty. He
experienced their dangers with them, not far away and untouched by their
circumstances. Still the disciples were faithless, accusing Jesus, the Lord, of
not caring. Yet, Jesus still delivered them. He extended to them the grace of
God, and, despite my grumblings, doubts, and accusations he does the same for
me. That's how much he cares. The good news is that Jesus, although he rebuked
them, still delivered them. Jesus, who commands the storm, was there with them,
and he is with us too.
In Christ, http://youtu.be/KyWOIKCtjiw
Brown,
Psalm 4:8
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