The Mark 4 Storm

The Mark 4 Storm

In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus directs His disciples to leave and go to the other side of the lake.  Sometimes, God simply sends us to unfamiliar places.  We may not know where we are going.  Moreover, we may not know a storm is brewing.  God leads us in the direction of storms to fulfill His purpose.

Suddenly and inexplicably, “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.”  Note the intense danger in which the disciples found themselves!  What a storm!  Imminent destruction and death looms.  Matthew’s account of this story adds, “Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.”  Luke’s version says, “They were in great danger.”  Inexplicably, this storm arises!  Storms in our lives erupt just as quickly.  God allows them so we might see His provision.

Where was Jesus while the storm brews?  “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.”  God is always present.  But, “The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown!”  Hear the desperate cry of experienced fishermen who knew that lake.  Martin Buber posits life’s circumstances eclipse God.  Storms appear more powerful than God.  The disciples call upon the Lord because they know He is their only hope.  Ironically, God appears to be asleep.  Yet, the Psalmist insists it is impossible for God to sleep.  “He will not let your foot slip.  He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:3)  “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet!  Be Still!’  Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”  The same God who allows the storm also calms it. 

“He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?”  A pervasive fear of death plagues humankind.  Fear is the greatest burden in life.  Any circumstance creates fear within us.  It is the curse of Eden.  In desperation, we ask God, “Don’t you care that I am drowning in this storm?”  God reverses the question.  He asks, “When will you finally believe and trust Me?”  Why are you always afraid?  “Do you still have no faith?  Faith, a genuine reliance upon Almighty God’s faithfulness, eradicates fear.  An unequivocal trust in God’s love and word eliminates daily anxiety.  Faith is the antidote to fear.  Faith emerges when we trust God while waves batter the boat, lightning flashes, and thunder rolls.

“Do you still have no faith?”  Periodically, God allows storms to determine whether we have faith. Faith is fundamentally experiential and practical.  It is trusting God while taking the next right step.  “The spiritual life is not a theory.”    You can read countless volumes of theology and know very little about the Lord.  You can attend church every Sunday and never know the Lord.    Simply stated, faith, a genuine reliance upon the goodness of Almighty God in all circumstances, yields peace in the midst of storms.