You awake from your sleep. Your mind’s racing as you try to sort through the many anxious thoughts floating in your head. Of course, you push the randomness aside because you have to prepare yourself for the day ahead. You expect a quiet day as the supervisor is out and the workload is light. However, all this fades when you step into the building. Before you reach your desk, you’re hit with crisis after crisis and request after request. Not to mention, you have a report due that you completely forgot about. When you finally arrive to your office, you slump down in your chair as the morning rush of anxious thoughts return coupled with the day’s concerns. What do you do? Where do you find peace?
The Story: Mark 5:35-41
In Mark 5:35-41, Jesus and the disciples finished ministry for the day and headed to the other side of the sea by boat. They anticipated that a light breeze and smooth wave would carry them to the other side. Instead, they met a fierce windstorm and crashing waves. The tumultuous storm created anxiety and panic in these seasoned fishermen.
Jesus, on the other hand, was asleep on the boat. In a panic, they wake Him and questioned if He cared if they perished. As the Prince of Peace, Jesus wasn’t moved by the current events. He spoke to the wind and waves and said, “Peace be still.” After the sea returned to normal, Jesus asked, “Why were you afraid? Why did you have no faith in Me?” Instead of responding to His questions, they were full of fear and spoke among themselves about the man who controls the wind and the sea.
The Lesson
From the passage, we see that life happens to us all without warning or preparation. Like the disciples, we’re not alone in the situation. Jesus may appear absent from the chaos and uncertainty in our lives; however, He never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:1) nor does He leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus is with us despite the seeming silence.
I once heard a say that “the teacher is always quiet during the test.” This saying suggests that a teacher is quiet to see if we learned the lesson before the test. We received the instructions beforehand, and now the test reveals what we learned. Before the disciples faced the storm, Jesus taught them through parables (stories) and performed miracles that they witnessed. The expectation is that when the disciples faced anything they could refer back to the lessons. They would remember what they saw and heard. Unfortunately, the magnitude of the weather conditions kept their eyes and memory on the current situation.
We are like the disciples. We’ve seen God come through for us in the past. Yet today, the chaos is overwhelming. However, all is not lost. There’s hope if we can refocus on Jesus. He can give us peace like a river (Isaiah 66:12). He declares that He didn’t give us the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7) nor does He want us to carry our burdens (Matthew 11:28-30). With our gaze on Jesus, the burden light and we can float on the river of peace.
