When all around you is turmoil and distress, how do you react? Jesus has given us the keys in a little incident that happened on Lake Galilee.
The disciples were hard-pressed trying to get across Galilee in one of its infamous storms and things didn’t look very good for them (Mark 4:35-39). The whole time they were fighting for their lives, waves were washing into their boat and Jesus had lain there fast asleep in the stern. When they couldn’t contain themselves any more they woke Jesus up with a desperate, “Teacher! We’re perishing. Don’t you care?”
These men had already seen Him do many miracles and He had just ordained them and given them this very same power to heal people and cast out demons but here they were in fear of their lives and even doubting Jesus’ care for them.
After calming the storm with, “Peace. Be still”, Jesus rebuked them with what seems like a rather strange statement, “Where is your faith?”
What is Jesus teaching us here? I believe we are being taught 3 things.
1. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. 700 years before Jesus had been born it had been prophesied that Jesus would be called the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6. So what peace did Jesus bring? Romans 5:1 says, " Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,." Specifically that means that through His blood on the cross, Jesus made peace between man and God (Colossians 1:20).
2. Who is the spreader of distress, fear and turmoil? The devil is the one who makes you think on the things of man and not on the things of God (Matthew 16:23). Who do you think whispers all those “What if” messages in your head?
3. If Jesus is in our boat, then we have nothing to be fearful of. No matter what happens to us in this life, if we trust in Jesus, there is no room for anxiety and stress. Even when He seems to not be hearing us, He is there in our boat ready to calm our storm.
PRAYER: “Gracious Father. We praise You for revealing the truth about the devil and his schemes. We know that when the devil puts fiery darts of fear in us that these are just lies sent to torment us and we won’t listen to them. Thank You for what You have done to bring us peace. Thank you for Your promises to help, comfort and deliver us.”