Fear and the Storm

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee - Rembrandt

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   Sitting here at my desk working on emails and other admin stuff, I received a text from a friend and fellow pastor. He is currently at a hospital with his brother grieving the sudden loss of his brothers four year old daughter. What do you say in those moments? How do you help someone process the weight of grief that comes with such a tragedy? Why do some people see long lives and others die so young? We look at our world and we see such chaos, and we wonder what is happening.

   At the end of Mark 4, Jesus and his disciples (along with other boats), set out one evening for a seemingly ordinary crossing of the Sea of Galilee. It was a crossing that some of Jesus' disciples had probably made dozens of times. However, this trip would be far from ordinary. A sudden, fierce storm springs up, the boat seems as though it is moments away from sinking, and the disciples awaken Jesus, asking Him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing (Mark 4:38)?" They were at their wits end. Jesus calmly stands up, rebukes the wind and the waves, and everything becomes still.

   Perhaps you are at a place in your life where you feel a bit like the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. You're experiencing one hit after another, and you don't even know where they are coming from. Out of desperation, you cry out, "God, don't you even care that I am perishing here?" You are afraid, and you've seemingly lost all hope. However, when God does answer our requests for help, how many of us realize the awesome power of God in that moment? Instead, we go on our merry way, acting as if God was only doing His job. 

   The disciples experienced fear in two ways in this event. Initially, they were afraid of the storm, but then that fear shifted once the storm had been silenced. Mark 4:41 says, "They became very much afraid and said to one another, 'Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" They recognized the divine power of Jesus to command the wind and the waves, and they became afraid. In the midst of the challenging events of life, where will you put your faith, what will you fear? Remember the message of this event. True faith learns not to fear our circumstances but the One who rule over them.