PEACE IN THE MIDST OF A STORM!
By: Rev. J. Loren Russell, BA, MDiv
Mark 4: 35-41 (NKJV)
“35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
During my quiet time with The Lord this morning, I realized that it’s in those still, quiet moments that I spend with Him that he speaks the loudest. It’s only during those quiet moments that His voice is clearly heard through His Word (The Bible) and in the still, quiet voice He uses to whisper in my ear those things I need to know. It’s his still quiet voice that calms my soul and sooths my spirit. If you don’t have a daily set aside time to spend with Him all be yourself, you are missing the peace that only He can give.
In the text, we find the disciples in the midst of a storm while Jesus was asleep in the rear of the boat. Panic has taken over and they feared for their lives. What’s interesting to me is that they had seen Jesus heal a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6); they saw Him heal so many people that everyone who was sick pushed through the crowds just to touch Him” (Mark 3:7-12). In fact so many people gathered that He had to get into a boat just so He could teach them. When the crowd left, Jesus explained everything to His disciples (Mark 4:1-34). They witnessed all of these, even hear Him teach like no one had ever taught before, yet when the tempest rises, they go to Him, wake Him from His sleep and ask, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?” They were overwhelmed and they lost their faith. Yet, there seems to be a glimmer of hope that He just might be able to do with the storm what he did for the people. They were hoping He would bring peace to a raging storm.
When we are overwhelmed, stressed, and at our wits’ end, we need to keep the faith. We must take a few minutes to find our peace in the midst of our storm. Get rid of the distractions; turn off the television, the radio, the computer, the cell phone, and think about all the blessings we’ve had in our lives, all the challenges we’ve overcome. Reflect on the fact that we are still standing despite our circumstances and situations. Finally, we must be faithful and thankful because during our most turbulent times, He has always been and will always be on our boat. He never has and never will leave us nor forsaken us. And the best part of all is that the wind and the sea, yes, all of life’s storms, obey Him!
“Make an appointment with God every day and then keep it as if you were meeting with the most important person in the world.” (God Is In The Small Stuff; Bickel, Bruce and Stan Jantz)
Be Blessed +++
Rev. J. Loren Russell, BS, MDiv is President/CEO of The JLR Company, an associate minister at both Goodwill and Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx, and host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio (internet), Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM or by phone at 646-226-1448.
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