STORMS

Mark 4:35-41 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. They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the and the waves obey him!”

The meteorologists are closely watching the waters for development of tropical storms and hurricanes. It’sthat time of the year. Everyone gets a little stirred up waiting and watching for possible hurricanes. We’ve experienced the devastation, but here is south Mississippi, we’ve learned that you can’t avoid the storms in life. They are going to come when they come. Nope, we can’t wish them away, but we can prepare. We can watch and wait, keep necessary supplies on hand, and do what we do for all of the other storms in life, we pray! We must remember that no matter how great the storm is that we are facing, we know the One who calms the storm.

One day after a long day of teaching, Jesus was weary and ready for a good night’s sleep. He told the disciples to cross over the sea to the other side. They loaded up in the boat, and Jesus went to sleep. While Jesus slept, a terrible storm developed. Four of the disciples were very able bodied seamen with a great deal of experience in the sea, but this wasn’t an ordinary storm. It was fierce. Perhaps it was like an August hurricane in the Gulf. This storm scared the disciples, even the experienced seamen. They went and woke Jesus up. And the asked Him, “Don’t you care that we are about to die?” They thought that they were surely doomed.

I find it strange that these fellows were with Jesus, up close and personal, witnessing the many miracles that He had performed, and yet they still didn’t recognize that He had the full power and authority of God. The disciples panicked, but notice that Jesus did not panic. Jesus knew before He got in that boat that a terrible storm was on the way. After He was awakened, He went to the front of the boat and commanded the wind and the waves to be still, and the wind and waves obeyed.

Jesus told the disciples, let’s go over to the other side. He knew the storm was coming. He knew they wouldn’t crash and sink. He knew they would make it to the other side. The disciples didn’t think they would make it, but Jesus knew that they would.

We seem to be sitting in the middle of some mighty big storms lately. We’ve had the COVID pandemic, a suffering economy, riots, deaths, political disagreements, floods, tornadoes, and now we wait for storms to develop in the Gulf of Mexico. Storms in life are inevitable, but what separates us from the crowd is that we know the One who calms the storms. We know the One who commands the winds and the waves. Our Lord and Savior already knows what kind of storms are on the way. He already knows the conflicts and circumstances that we are going to face, but He is not panicking and neither should we. He is the calm in the storm. We only have to trust in Christ completely, and He will see us through.
KK Hodge