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Mark 4:35-41 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
There are nights when many of us struggle to sleep. We worry about the next day; a sermon, a presentation, a sales call, a confrontation needed at work, an assignment for school - all have put pressure on our minds, hearts, and spirits and restless spirits cannot sleep. And it seems every week there is a study that tells us that we need at least these many hours to sleep and any less than those and we will be sick.
We do not know the physical pressure put on Jesus, but we have a strong idea of how much. We also know that Jesus sought and found time for worship, prayer, and rest. As His ministry increased and crowds increased, He sought places of quiet to pray and rest. Jesus knew the need to stay connected with God and He remembered the commandment on rest. In this story, Jesus is seeking refuge from the crowds and decides to cross the Sea of Galilee by boat and while crossing with a boatload of fishermen, a storm comes up. The storm was so fierce even the men who had made a living on the sea are terrified. Jesus was asleep. I would have been one of the ones awake and screaming! But I'm not so sure I would have gone to wake Jesus up! Maybe I would. The disciples, fearing for their lives, awaken Jesus and asked if He did not fear that they were perishing. Jesus wakes up and tells the storm, "Just calm down!" (Actually, the word He uttered to the sea was "peace!" The sea calmed down.
Jesus asks us, as He did the disciples, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" After all this time of knowing me and all that I can do and have done for you; you are still afraid of life? Where is your faith? Jesus knows things will make us afraid and that's alright, but we cannot allow fear to paralyze our lives to the point we give up or just go around screaming that all is lost. Or, that we don't sleep as we should. "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Will not the fears in our lives obey Jesus' command to just calm down?
PRAYER: Loving God, help me to have more faith. All that I have received and seen You do in the lives of loved ones and others should make me be calmer. I ask that You command the fears in my life to be calm to the point where I can sleep, I can work, I can serve. I love You. Amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
