Peace, Be Still 07-14-2024
Text: Mark 4:35-41
When people make the decision to accept Jesus into their lives, often they believe it means they will no longer experience problems. But He never promised that our Christian lives would be problem free. What He taught and promises is that we wouldn't have to go through times of trouble alone.
Our text today is from Mark 4:35-41 which says: "(35) And the same day, when the evening had come, He said unto them, "Let us pass over unto the other side." (36) And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships. (37) And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. (38) And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish? (39) He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, "Peace, be still." And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (40) And He said unto them, "How is it that you have no faith?" (41) And they feared exceeding, and said one to another, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"
Earlier in chapter 4 Mark records how a crowd of people had gathered by the Sea of Galilee to hear Jesus preach. Because the crowd was so large He sat inside a boat anchored on the shore so that he could be better seen and heard. During the sermon Jesus taught the crowd using parables. First was the parable of the Sower encouraging us to share God's Word with others but not to be discouraged when we don't see the results we would like. What's important is that we plant -- or sow -- the seed; the results are in God's hands. Next was the parable of the candle that represents the light and truth of Jesus. We're not to hide His light, we are to share it with others. Then He used the parable of the harvest teaching when the seeds are planted, sometimes they seed grow and sometimes they don't because they land in in rocky soil. Jesus is reminding us of our responsibility to share His message even when sometimes it will grow when it is heard and sometimes it won't because it lands in the rocky soil of hearts hardened by Satan. And then there is the parable of the mustard seed, the smallest seed that grows to be larger than the other herbs. This shows that while Christianity had a small beginning, it would grow into a worldwide community of believers who work to share the Word of God.
At the end of the day when the preaching was finished, Jesus gathered His Disciples into the boat with Him and together they set out to cross the Sea of Galilee. When He said, "Let us pass over unto the other side," they had every reason to believe the trip would be safe. Like Jesus, they were probably tired from the long day, but they happily went along. And many followed them in other boats.
Our Christian life is like this journey. We may be tired or even afraid and broken when we reach out to Jesus. But when we make that decision to accept Him into our lives, we are assured that He will be with us every step of the way and at the end of the journey we are guaranteed safe passage into Heaven for eternity.
We see in verse 37 of our text how a windstorm came out of nowhere that was so fierce, the boat filled water causing the Disciples panic while Jesus slept peacefully in the back of the boat. They behaved the same we often do when a big or unexpected problem comes up in our life: we panic instead of trusting Jesus. This world was not always so scary and unpredictable. We see this when we read about the tranquility God created in the Garden of Eden. And Isaiah assures us in chapter 35 that no matter how bad things may be, there are better days ahead. That day on the Sea of Galilee the Disciples learned valuable lessons from their "adventure" with Jesus that we can use so we don't panic when problems come into our lives.
The Disciples chose to travel with Jesus, learning and obeying Him, but the storm still came. They knew they were doing His will, but the storm still came. And this wouldn't be the last of the storms they would encounter. Our Christian lives will never be without problems even when we are doing everything right as we follow Him.
We see in verses 38-40 how the Disciples panicked because the storm threatened to destroy them all and they were upset with Jesus because He seemed unaware and unconcerned. They may have faced a physical storm that night, but storms will always come in other forms as well. Think about the many situations in our lives that create a lot of fear and anxiety. Whatever difficulties or problems we may be facing, we always have two options: like the Disciples that night we can worry, panic, and assume that Jesus is unaware or doesn't care, or we can resist the fear and trust in Him to be by our side to help us through them. When we feel like panicking, we first must admit to our need for Divine intervention, ask for His help to work things out in accordance with God's Will, then trust that Jesus will keep His promise.
Then in verse 41, we see that how the Disciples underestimated Jesus even though they lived with Him every day. They had already witnessed countless miracles, but they didn't understand that His power applied to their situation on that trip. They woke Jesus from His nap and after they accused Him of not caring they were all about to die, He spoke three words: "Peace, be still," causing the water to immediately calm. We also learn that Disciples didn't yet know enough about Jesus because they were still afraid when they said: "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" Today, we can't claim their lack of knowledge of the power and capabilities of Jesus. They were right, the wind and the sea obeyed Him and guess what, so does everything else. Because we have the Word of God today there is no need for us to panic about anything that threatens to disrupt our lives. Jesus knew then the storm would come that night, but He took the trip with His Disciples anyway because He was equipped to stop it. Seeing Jesus calm that storm caused the Disciples to reflect on their own faith and learn a valuable lesson about the Man they were following.
Jesus has been with His people for 20 centuries, yet we, like the Disciples, still underestimate His power to manage problems in our lives. Jesus also knows every storm that will come into our lives. Like the Disciples, each time we come to a storm and turn the problem over to Him we strengthen our faith, and our trust grows because He is far greater than any of our problems. He will never allow us to go through it alone because He is fully equipped to get us through it.
God allows storms to come into every believers' life for a purpose. Jonah's storm came in the form of a big fish so that he could be brought back to God. The Apostle Paul's storm came in the form of a vision of Jesus and a period of blindness that changed him from a Christian persecutor into a Christian teacher. And the storm the Disciples experienced that day on the Sea of Galilee came to build their faith in the One they had chosen to serve. We should never judge the purpose for another person's "storm." Instead, we are to point them toward Jesus and reassure them encourage them to let Him into their life to love, guide, and help them through all the problems they face.
Jesus invites all of us to travel with Him. When we accept His invitation, He will be with us through every storm we face. We learn to resist the desire to ask, "why me" and instead, to always lean on Him to get us through by trusting that He is up to the task of doing whatever is required to get us safely to the other side. His power calmed the stormy sea the Disciples faced, and He still has the power to calm every storm we face in our lives. When He does, we can share those experiences with others who are panicking and suffering.
Until we meet again, may God bless and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.