He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to
him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” (Mark 4:38).
Jesus leads them to the other side
It had been a busy day, and Jesus was exhausted. After appointing the twelve apostles, his teaching ministry had exploded. He taught the people using parables, which I’ve heard defined as “earthly stories with heavenly meaning.”
Jesus taught about the kingdom of God using simple objects like wheat, fish, weeds, bread, mustard seeds, and sheep. These were things everyone could understand. But at the end of a long day, he was tired and needed rest. He told his disciples to cross over to the other side of the lake, then crawled up in the back of the boat and fell asleep.
The Sea of Galilee (also called Lake Gennesaret) is a body of fresh water fed from springs and melted snow from the top of Mount Hermon. It’s roughly thirteen miles long and eight miles wide, and from a Jewish perspective, it has two distinct sides.
The west side of the lake is settled by Jewish communities. It has beautiful rolling hills (the Hebrew root of the word Galilee means “to roll”) and the rock there is mostly white limestone. The east side of the lake is very different, as it’s controlled by a gentile population. The Decapolis (“ten cities”) were Greek settlements in that region. The landscape is a flat table-top surface known as the “heights” and the rock is mostly black basalt rock, the result of volcanic eruptions in ancient times.
These were the two very different sides of the lake. Good Jewish boys didn’t cross over to the “other side.” The “other side” was the dark side. The pagan side. The forbidden side. And that was the place Jesus told them to go.
When the storm hits
On their way, a violent storm blew in. Mark called it a “great windstorm” (Mark 4:37). The boat began taking in water. These men, who had been raised on the water, began to panic. Finally, they woke Jesus up and said, “Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
The storms of life come to all of us
Now let’s stop the story right here. Have you ever reacted this way? A storm comes into your life. Maybe it’s that the doctor calls and says the cancer is back. The business is losing money. Your teenage daughter is pregnant. A person you love walks out. The depression is growing. These are the storms of life, and they come to all of us.
In the panic of the moment, it is easy to scream out, “God, why is this happening? Don’t you care that I’m hurting?” In times like these, all of heaven seems silent.
Every storm is an opportunity to trust God
How do you respond when storms come your way? God allows storms into our lives for many reasons. Sometimes the storms come to test our faith (James 1:1-2). Sometimes the storms come to perfect us and grow us (1 Peter 1:7). Sometimes storms come to correct us (Hebrews 12:6). But every storm is an opportunity to trust God more and see him work in our lives.
Jesus allowed this storm to come into their lives. It was a real storm with real danger, but Jesus was there with them.
Why are you afraid?
He stood up and rebuked the wind and the waves. Instantly, everything was still. Then Jesus asked them a penetrating question: “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Let that question sink in. Imagine Jesus asking you that question. “Why are you afraid? Why is there no faith in you?”
The larger the faith, the smaller the fear
Jesus linked fear and faith together. The larger the fear, the smaller the faith. The larger the faith, the smaller the fear.
Faith isn’t about ignoring the problems or pretending they don’t exist. Faith isn’t an excuse to do nothing. Faith is trusting that Jesus is with you in the struggle and will bring you through it and use it for his greater purpose.
As they sat in the boat on the still lake, these men were speechless. They said to themselves, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” (Mark 4:41).
We never have to be afraid-the Lord of the wind and seas is with us too.
This blog features an excerpt from one of our books, His Way Still Works.
