Mark 4:35-41: On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Shhh, He’s Sleeping
As the wind blows at hurricane force and the waves beat them back and forth, what do they do? These were experienced fisherman, this was not their first fishing trip or storm. These guys grew up in these boats, this was second nature to them. It was basically, all they knew. But, they have never have seen anything like this. They were about to drown. That boat was not going to hold together, even with all their collective experience, this was the end for them. What do we do now?
Have you ever been there? I am, right at this moment. God tells you to do something and you know without a doubt, you are in His will. Then an unprecedented storm hits and it leaves you in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of a raging hurricane. You have been here before, this is nothing new, (you think) but now, everything you know is about to sink and go under. Your nerves are shot! You have tried everything you know. The things that have got you through these tough time before, are not working anymore. You are now stumped and full of fear and frustration. There is no turning back, there are no other options! You are stuck in the middle of this situation and all hell has broken loose. You think there is nowhere to go. You cannot make it to the shore in front of you and there definitely, is no way to go back to where you were before. WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?
As I read Mark 4:35-41. It was like I was reading it for the first time. My ministry is in trouble and like the disciples, this is not my first rodeo. I have been here before. I have seen the hard winds of trouble blow before and God has always brought me through. Now, however, everything I used to know is not working. The things that I have seen before, for example, people calling me to work odd jobs during these hard financial times isn’t happening. For 15 years, it has worked and never failed! But now, the storm is like nothing I have ever seen before. This is a storm from Satan, just like the disciples were facing. That was no normal hurricane force winds they were facing. That was something in all their years they had never seen before. This was Satan, out to destroy them and the Messiah. The disciplines had, and I have no answer except…
Jumping to the wrong conclusions!
Let us look at the story again. The disciples in their fear and panic jumped to the wrong conclusion. Jesus was sound asleep on a pillow and not even disturbed by the wind the waves and even getting wet. He was asleep as if He was on a nice calm beach and enjoying the soft breeze and sun. Unfortunately and incorrectly, the disciples came to the wrong conclusion… He did not care! But how? The wind and waves were about to sink them. Why was He asleep? Why did He seem not to care and seem so distant about the serious situation they were in?
Have you ever made that mistake? In the middle of your storm, when you need Him the most, He seems to get quiet and distant. I did, just the other night, as I was praying (really complaining)! I accused Him: “while I was new in Guatemala, 10 years ago, you spoke loud and clear three times. You wanted me to stay.. and I did! Now things have hit the fan and I am holding the bag! You are nowhere to be found!” Or is He? Maybe Jesus is just asleep! Maybe He is right behind you!
What to do next?
Well, let us wake Him up! That was the disciples next step.
And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Like I just mentioned above, they accused him of not caring, not being there when they were in trouble, just like I did. Then I read the verse above and His reaction later to this storm. Waking Jesus was not a good idea! He was not pleased and I can relate. I hate being woken before I am ready to get up. I get into a seriously bad mood if you disturb my sleep and you better have a cup of coffee in your hand. I can see Jesus is the same way!
But what were they to do? “Come on, the boat is filling with water and it is sinking. They were trained fisherman and they knew when a boat is about to go under! What else should they have done?”
Have faith!
Have faith? Just believe everything is going to work out fine? That is what you are saying? This is not a fairy tale, these guys were about to die or at least they believed so!
I have taught this many times and now I am being taught by the Holy Spirit: Have faith! What is faith? Faith is taking God at His word, no matter what you are facing! So what was Jesus’ last word to His disciples before He went to take a nap? This is very important! What did Jesus tell them!
V35b: “Let us cross over to the other side.”
Jesus did not say: “let us go halfway and drown!” He said: “let us go to the other side!” Jesus never says what He does not mean. He also knew what was going to happen. He actually had to force the disciples into the boat to go. They knew a storm was brewing on the horizon. So, if they had faith (taking Jesus at His word), they should have known they were going to be ok and they were going to make it. Despite the circumstances, that they were facing.
That is our problem also. The Word tells us His promises, but when the winds of adversity blow, we just fold up and want to run. He said: “go to the other side.” That means we are going to make it. When the Word of God says; “He shall supply all your needs according to His riches. That does not mean, go look in the bank account and see if He is telling the truth. He promised and all HIs promises are “yes and amen.” So do we wake Him? NO! We need to stand in faith, let the winds and waves do their damage, but let Him sleep! He is in complete control even when He sleeps.
One Word!
Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
That was it! All that banging and pounding of the winds of Satan. His powerful waves filling the boat and which looked and seemed lost! Then, Jesus woke! Then, one sentence later! It was all over! The power of Satan, the circumstances that seemed so overwhelming to these experienced fishermen, was over in a second. One word and it was done. Nothing that we face is overwhelming to Jesus! Nothing is too hard for Him to fix. He is never rattled or caught off guard. He is never rushed or panicked like we are.
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
He was not rebuking them because they did not stop the storm. They really had no precedents for that. Who could stop a raging hurricane in its tracks? We can and know this because we have the scriptures to stand on but the disciples had no clue this could happen. They showed that in verse 41: “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
So what was Jesus upset about and why was He questioning their faith. Like I said earlier. V35b: “Let us cross over to the other side.” He gave them their destination but they doubted His word! They were going to the other side and they ended up doing just that!
What shall we do?
Do we wake Jesus when He seems to be asleep, distant or quite in the midst of our problems? No! Let Him sleep. (metaphorically) Let us stand on His last word to us. Take His promises that are in the Bible and stand on them. He never lies and He does not break His promises. So do what I am doing today. I am not going to wake Him up. We all have to learn from this story. In just one word, in one second, Jesus wakes up and makes his move. All the storms we face will come to an end. Let the winds blow and the waves crash against us but we must stand in complete confidence. He is in control and when He sees your faith in action, then He will make all your financial, health issues or any other problems we are facing come to an end. So, just let Him sleep and know that when He wakes, it will be all over. There is nothing too hard for Him, if we just stand on HIs Word. Just like the disciples, what they thought was their end was over in a moment. The monster storm was history at His command.
As I read this scripture and mediated on what I shared I had doubts, was I reading too much into this? Then while reading another devotional the Lord opened my eyes to His Word which says this:
Romans: 12:12: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Then the Lord spoke this to me:
Be patient, I am here. I am in the storm with you. I am only sleeping and at rest. The storm that you fear, is nothing to me and my mighty power. It possesses no real danger even though you think it does! At my Word, all is over!
