No ordinary storm
No Ordinary Storm
Mark 4: 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 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?
39 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.
This was no ordinary storm. Previously, Jesus had been teaching on the kingdom through a series of parables. It was in this very ship that he taught by the sea side because of the multitude that had come to hear him.
He taught them the parable of the sower and the seed. He taught them that a candle is meant to be seen and that nothing in secret would remain hidden. He told his disciples that to them it was given to know the mysteries of the kingdom but that it was hidden from those who chose not to seek it out. And that if they didn’t understand the parable of the sower and the seed, they wouldn’t understand any other. Little did they know that the teacher was in his glory and their ship was his class room. They were being given the answers before the test.
Have you ever been given a dream, a word that resonated in your spirit that you knew, was more to it than met the eye? You knew God was telling you something. Something that took seeking Him to get an understanding? “It is the Glory of God to conceal a thing. But the glory of kings to search a matter out.” Proverbs 25:2 Jesus was the master teacher (orator). He could give a parable that man’s wisdom had no grasp of understanding. But it was not in the telling that they would learn, but rather in the test that followed.
After teaching many parables that day (lessons on various aspects having to do with the Word of God, the one who teaches it, enemies of the Word, those who receive it and those who don’t, why and what the word will produce) in verse 35b, the teacher is ready to give them the test saying “Let us pass over unto the other side.”
The scene is set. It is evening and along with the boat that Jesus and his disciples are on are several other smaller boats. Then comes an unusual storm. A storm so fierce that on the sea, it is of hurricane proportions. This in and of itself is unnatural as hurricanes are common only in large bodies of water such as the Atlantic Ocean. But this storm sends their boat reeling as the waves beat ferociously against it. The waves are so relentless, they lift the boat high almost touching the sky and with the tumult of the violent winds, send the boat crashing to depths of the sea.
The deep looming sound of the creaking of the helm and the cracking of lightening overwhelms the men’s hearts as the waters that were once on the outside of the boat have now come inside and their boat is now full. Although a few of them are seasoned fisherman and have gone through storms before, they have never experiences anything like this.
Isn’t it something how no matter what you think you know about life, there are times when our faith is being tested that we face unusual circumstances that seem to come from nowhere?
Psalm 107:23-30Amplified Bible (AMP)
23 Some go down to the sea and travel over it in ships to do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep.
25 For He commands and raises up the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea.
26 [Those aboard] mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the deeps; their courage melts away because of their plight.
27 They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits’ end [all their wisdom has come to nothing].
28 Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses.
29 He hushes the storm to a calm and to a gentle whisper, so that the waves of the sea are still.
30 Then the men are glad because of the calm, and He brings them to their desired haven.”
So the men cry out to Jesus and awake him from his rest. Now its one thing for them to be going through all of this and after all, wasn’t it Jesus who said “Let us pass over to the other side?” We wouldn’t be going through this if it weren’t for us following him! And to make matters worse, when we need him the most, he’s in the back of the boat (uh, class room) sleeping!
Have you ever felt like when all hell was breaking loose in your life that Jesus was somewhere asleep? But even the answer to this question (I’m sorry, test) had been given to them when he said in verses 26-29 of Mark 4:
“26 … So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”
Now the master teacher is ready to reveal the lesson that he’d spent all the day teaching them. How well did they do? Did they pass? He arises (gets up out of his chair at the back of the class room) and does two things: He rebukes the wind and says “Peace, Be Still!” then turns to the disciples and asks them “Where is your faith?” Jesus never asks a question to get information. But this was a question of “location” (what ground are you?) for his disciples to answer.
All the day he’d been teaching them how faith operates and that there are enemies at work to steal the word it produces. He’d told them that depending upon the type of ground (condition of the heart), the measure of word they’d receive would yield the same measure of return. He had taught them that when the harvest (the test) came, that what they’d received would be manifest.
It would seem that Jesus would only need to speak Peace or to simply tell the winds to “Be still”, but upon looking closer at the lessons he’d been teaching them, there were two points of interest being addressed in this lesson:
The “Peace” was to the disciples who only needed to realize that The Prince of Peace was with them all along. That where, when and how He tells you to go is enough to sustain you when you receive and obey His Word. He will never lead you where He will not keep you.
“Be still” was to the elements that surrounded them (the winds, the waves). “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:41b This storm was not an ordinary storm. It was a lesson in faith that Jesus ordered and because he initiated it, he also controlled it. All along, as impending, dismal and horrific as it may have been for his disciples, it was all happening in a “controlled” environment. It came for them to “pass” over to the other side.
28 "Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses.
29 He hushes the storm to a calm and to a gentle whisper, so that the waves of the sea are still.
30 Then the men are glad because of the calm, and He brings them to their desired haven.” Psalm 107:28-30
You may be going through a storm right now. Speak peace over your soul and tell the winds to “Be still!” You are not alone, and this is no ordinary storm.
