- Mark Lane ,Christian2christian
Ministries
Mark 4:36-39
And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the
waves were breaking over the boat so much that the
boat was already filling up.
38 And He Himself was in the stern, asleep
on the cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him,
"Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
39 And being aroused, He rebuked the wind
and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind
died down and it became perfectly calm.
The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by step hills
with deep ravines. During the day, the heat builds
up on the Sea and is held in on calm days by the
surrounding hills. In the evening, the heat can
rise quickly into the night sky and cooler air comes
rushing down the ravines creating sudden, very dangerous
storms on the water with wind and high waves. It
may have been on just such and evening that the
disciples woke Jesus in fear of their lives. Their
hearts and minds were in utter turmoil. These were
experienced fishermen and there was nothing that
they could do to keep the storm from overtaking
them.
Jesus was upset with the men who woke Him, for
their lack of faith in His word. Many say that it
was because He had told them that it was His intention
to go to the other side of the sea. Since Jesus
was God in human flesh, He would surely know that
the boat would make it. Another thought would be
that the Lord was upset because they had indeed
tried everything they could do within their ability
to withstand the storm. Only when that store of
experience was exhausted and they were in complete
panic did they come to the Master for help.
Isn't this just like us? And how like the storm
on the sea are the storms in our hearts? We live
our lives in our own sufficiency as long as we possibly
can. The storms come up quickly and we struggle
with them. Only when we are unable to withstand
the next crisis, or get past the next problem, illness
or issue do we come to Jesus feeling as though we
have somehow failed Him. Really the only thing we
have failed to do is include Jesus in our plans
and pray when we first begin to encounter resistance,
for guidance and wisdom. We are told to remember
our labour of love and patience of hope in Jesus
Christ (1 Thes 1:3), to thank God (1 Thes 2:13),
and to pray (1 Thes 5:17) all without ceasing. Our
relationship is to be a constant thing. Jesus is
not a magician to get us out of our latest problem,He
is our Lord, and wants to have a constant conversation
with us, as His children and His friends. He called
the disciples His friends. He wants that kind of
fellowship with us.
When Jesus rebuked the storm, the language indicates
that the storm ceased immediately. It did not die
down over a period of minutes. It died down at the
command of the Soverign of the Universe. And the
peace that replaced the storm was complete. It is
just like the peace in our hearts when we give up
a problem to Him. And it is just like the awe that
struck the disciples who witnessed the complete
control and power of the Savior over the very wind
and the water.
John 15:13-15
13 "Greater love has no one than this, that
one lay down his life for his friends.
14 "You are My friends, if you do what I command
you.
15 "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave
does not know what his master is doing; but I have
called you friends, for all things that I have heard
from My Father I have made known to you.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus - bring us into a closer, more constant
conversation with You. Help us to learn to hear
Your still, small voice as you lead us around and
through the storms of this life. Amen.
