Read: Mark 4:35-41
He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” (v. 39)
Have you ever found yourself in a life-threatening situation? An enormous funnel cloud heading straight for the house. A flight violently jolted by unexpected turbulence. The car spinning out of control on black ice. It’s natural to think, Let’s get out of danger! not Let’s change these conditions!
Jesus’s disciples were in a little boat in a big storm. Jesus was in the stern sleeping through it. Unable to escape, they woke him and cried for help. Jesus didn’t tell the disciples to calm down. He stood up and spoke to the wind and the waves! Jesus could command nature and change its behavior! “Hush, be still.” And it was. “The wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (v. 39). Jesus is the creator of nature. He can expect its obedience, and he gets it. Seeing Jesus assume (and demonstrate) this view of himself, the disciples “were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ ” (v. 41).
Do you share Jesus’s view of himself? There is nothing too hard for him to do. He might not sweep away trouble or danger in your life, but they aren’t threats to his control of your situation or your security in him. Instead, he’ll take you through whatever you face.
As you pray, ask God to remind you how he brought you to your present circumstances, and how he will help you in them and through them.
Fred Van Dyke is a conservation biologist dedicated to the care for God’s creation. In this role Fred has served government agencies, private consulting firms, and academic institutions doing research, management, and teaching in conservation science. He is also the author of two books on faith and environmental stewardship.
