And the same day, when the even was come, he [Jesus] saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 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. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 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? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:35-41)
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. The Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples were sailing across the Sea of Galilee when suddenly they were met with a great storm with very large waves. Their small vessel was quickly filling with water and panic was beginning to enter their hearts just as fast. Where was Jesus? He was fast asleep in the rear of the boat. WHAT? How could this be? The boat is about to sink and Jesus, the miracle worker, is still sleeping. They had to wake him up. The disciples wanted to know if he cared for them because they were on the brink of perishing.
What happened after that? The scripture passage tells us that Jesus AROSE and REBUKED the wind and said to the sea PEACE, BE STILL! So, what happened after Jesus spoke those words. The scriptures tell us that the wind CEASED and there was a GREAT CALM. Jesus then turned to His disciples, and He asked them why they were afraid and how it was that they had NO faith. The disciples of Christ were truly humbled by what had just taken place and they “feared exceedingly.” We would have done the same thing.
I have watched numerous episodes of Storm Stories on the Weather Channel, and I have seen the Coast Guard come to the rescue many times. But in this passage of scripture the rescuer was present on the boat that was in trouble. The disciples of Christ had never witnessed anything like this in their entire lives. They started talking to each other and truly wondered “what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” We know that some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, and they were no strangers to the potential perils of the Sea, but what had just taken place simply blew them away. We must not forget that their lives were truly in danger and if Christ had not been present, there was a good chance that it would have been curtains for all of them. This was a “Red Sea” type of experience that the disciples were faced with, and nothing outside of supernatural help could save the day. That is when Jesus Christ came to the rescue.
As Christians we are faced with many trials in our lives and sometimes, we have our backs to the wall. We know that nothing and nobody in this world can help us. That is when we realize that only the Lord can help us and deliver us from the trouble that we face. The disciples did not understand that the Lord had everything under His control. That is the awesome Lord whom we serve. Sometimes our faith will start to sink when we are faced with circumstances beyond our control, but then the Lord reminds us of our many past deliverances and a peace beyond understanding enters our heart. We must never forget that the Lord is on our side because the enemy of our souls will seek to trample our faith as we go through our trials and fill our minds with thoughts if utter despair. Keep the faith!
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isaiah 43:1-2)