Showing Up for the Storm

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"

(Mark 4:35-41)

I heard a preacher speak on this verse while I was in grad school and I'll probably never forget what he said. He said: "being with Jesus means getting to go OVER the storm." I left that service upset, upset at the negligence of this preacher, upset for the minds of all who were there listening and clapping at his words.

I was upset because, the message he preached was counter to the message that Jesus gave us. Jesus made it clear that with Him we sill suffer, there will be heartache and persecution. But, with Him we have the assurance that our sorrow will one day cease.

Believing that being a Christian means getting to live a carefree, danger-free life is DANGEROUS. It is the type of weak foundation that causes faith to crumble. However, being a Christian does mean living a life of peace, not a life empty of war, but a life full of serenity.

William Barclay wrote that "in the presence of Jesus we can have peace in even the wildest storms of life."

David, the shepherd anointed to be king, offers a great illustration of the peace that comes with trusting in God. In the story of his showdown with Goliath, David used the little he had; he was small and his weapon was small. He knowingly walked into a difficult situation. The odds were against him, this Philistine was a large and mighty warrior. But, because David walked with God (because he was anointed by God), he walked in confidence. And against the odds, counter to the opinions of the men who surrounded him, he was triumphant; God was triumphant through him!

The last verse quoted above has confused a number of Bible readers. It seems as though the disciples are still questioning Jesus' identity. However, when you really examine it and consider it in it's original language and context, you find that it is actually proclaiming Jesus as divine. For, who other than God has control over nature? Who other than our Creator is able to calm a storm in an instant?

Christ served knowing there wasn't a thing that could get in the way of his will, for He knew that He and God were One; His will was God's will. We need to serve Him with such an assurance. He has shown us time and time again that WE CAN serve with such an assurance.

When Jesus said "Let us go to the other side," He wasn't just offering commentary for their next action, He was stating His will. And, being God Himself, His will is not merely a hope for the future, but a promise for the future. So, when Jesus said that they were going to the other side of the river, He was saying that NO MATTER WHAT they were going to make it to the other side.

We are able to live (to survive, endure, to flourish) because God is our strength, and it is His will for us to do so.

There is nothing new under the sun, after thousands of years we are still fighting wars--wars against the Enemy, wars against our neighbors, and wars against ourselves. We must allow God to be our strength as we struggle to live as the Body that He created us to be, as we strive to live counter to the racism and persecution that thrives in this world. We must trust in His promises and take Him at His word, even when we're in the eye of life's storms.

This was not the first time the disciples sailed the sea of Galilee, many were fishermen, so they knew it's tempestuous nature--how it is known to have sudden and violent storms. Meaning, they most likely got into that boat knowing there was a good chance that they'd be met with struggle. But, they also knew Jesus would be sailing with them.

Here's the thing, we can trust and have faith that Jesus will help us through our battles and our storms, but we still have to show up; we still have to grab our sling shots and our oars. For, though God is our strength, He still uses us to flex His muscles.