Howling winds, booming thunderclaps, and lightning flashes tend to make me nervous, even when I’m sheltered in a safe, dry place. Gentle rain showers I can handle. It’s the clamor and din of an intense storm that get me. So Jesus could well have been speaking to me when He asked His disciples, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).
Caught in the midst of a raging storm, the disciples must have stared incredulously at their slumbering rabbi. Waking Him, they asked reproachfully, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” (Mark 4:38). When Jesus rebuked the storm and all became calm, the terrified men couldn’t believe their eyes. “ ‘Who is this man?’ they asked each other. ‘Even the wind and waves obey him!’ ” (Mark 4:41).
By that time, the disciples had seen Jesus do and say enough to have an inkling of His identity. Yet the pounding waves made them lose perspective to the point of wondering who their Teacher really could be. I can imagine how they felt. When facing a storm in life, I often forget that I’m safe in Him and instead allow circumstances to make me anxious.
The noise and turmoil of life have a way of obscuring our vision from the truth of God’s Word and who He is. Isaiah 30:15 says, “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.” When we turn off our distractions and rest quietly in God’s presence, His peace permeates our hearts and strengthens our confidence.
Rather than using our minds to conjure up images of calamity and chaos, we will see—as the disciples did—that He who is with us is greater than the storms we face, no matter how large and loud they are.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Isaiah 6:1-13
More:
Read Psalm 107:23-30 for the Bible’s view of who is ultimately in control of all things.
Next:
What’s frightened you the most about a storm (physical or emotional) you’ve experienced? How does the knowledge that God is greater than our storms impact the way you feel?
hsnpoor on May 22, 2016 at 2:55 am
I don’t think I’ve ever read Ps. 107. What an awesome & amazing Psalm! So instructive of who the Lord is and what he will do for those who call on his name! I think I’m a bit weird in that I like the roar & spectacle of a good storm when I’m safe and dry in a secure shelter. Chicago has spectacular storms full of thunder & lightning and I remember visiting relatives there and being reprimanded to get away from the big window from which I was actually enjoying the view of a mighty storm. I was a lot younger then. But shortly thereafter I experienced a tornado in Atlanta and there was absolutely nothing enjoyable about that experience. 40-years down the road, I bless the Lord that I lived through both incidents, and many more, and know that I can call on his name and He will heed my call AND that I fully accept that how he answers that call is his choice and not mine and I’m just fine with that. Glory to God in the highest!
doctor-perspective on May 22, 2016 at 6:08 am
Good morning Kim and good morning to you my brother and sister as you share in today’s Journey. When ‘hsnpoor’ said that she did not think that she had read Psalm 107 before, I instinctively went to read it. I am sure that we both have “read” it before… but today, when tied into the incident of Jesus and His disciples in the storm, it acquires new and immediately relevant value. Glory be to God.
I reluctantly confess that the default version in my App took me to the NLT and that really transliterated the Psalm into living contemporary color. If you are like me, you could not read just the selected portion… you had to read the whole Psalm 107… and perhaps even more than once. I even returned to read it in the KJV.
Does this not reinforce the fact that unlike any other book in the world… the Bible is alive… and dynamic… And though its actual words cannot and do not change, because they reflect the mind and will and instruction and person of God Himself… the relevance of the words of the Bible to the changing circumstances of each person alive is infinite. The Bible is the only Book on earth that whenever you open it, the Author shows up.
“Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!”
sdwise on May 22, 2016 at 11:06 am
Amen!
sdwise on May 22, 2016 at 11:19 am
Good morning hsnpoor! Love the rain storms, but when we moved to Atlanta, I had never experienced lightening, thunder and tornados like this before. Still it speaks to me of how awesome is God’s power. How helpless we are when we stand against it, but how protected we are in His will. This week we were in AZ and beheld the beauty of the Grand Canyon as we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary. The glory of God refected in His creative work there moved me to tears. Our God is so worthy of the praise of all that He created!
hsnpoor on May 23, 2016 at 12:38 am
Happy anniversary! That’s quite a silver milestone! I pray you both see your golden 50th together!
Yes, Atlanta has some serious weather, but amazingly enough, I never saw snow the entire 4-years I was there (I went to college there in the 70’s). I grew up in LA and the main reason I was in school in GA is because the year I graduated HS, LA was hit with the Sylmar EQ, which terrified me and Spelman was the only school I had applied to that wasn’t in Ca. It was my last choice and the first acceptance I got & I immediately accepted their acceptance. The tornado hit my sophomore year. Taught me a great lesson in that we can’t hide from “natural” catastrophes, try as we may…:)
sdwise on May 22, 2016 at 11:32 am
I know you have read the book of Psalms. Also, there is a blessing in reading throught the bible every year that I can not explain completely. One of the benefits I can tell you is that the Holy Spirit brings to mind more and more what is relavent to living for Him. Also it’s like my ears perk up when someone says something that is not in the Bible but has been quoted by men. John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”. Be blessed!
hsnpoor on May 23, 2016 at 11:22 am
Very true. I have read the Bible through at least 5 or 6 times, but in all honesty, I have skipped over some parts; or, read and not comprehended some of it, probably because my Christian journey hadn’t yet given me ears to hear or eyes to see what was before me. I so get and understand your reference to John 10:27. It is imperative that we become so familiar with the voice of The Truth, who is a person and not a philosophy or an opinion, that we can immediately detect a counterfeit when we see or hear it (one of best lessons I learned in the Experiencing God Bible study, was when Blackaby described how the Royal Canadian Mounties become world-renowned experts at detecting counterfeiters…..you would think that would involve studying great counterfeits of the world’s currency; when, in fact, all they studied were the real thing, so that when a counterfeit appeared, it was glaringly obvious).
remioyedele2015 on May 22, 2016 at 4:30 pm
Amen! Thank you for sharing, hsnpoor; I used to live in the Chicago area, but was never able to enjoy those howling winds! Thank God we’re safe in His loving embrace 🙂
hsnpoor on May 23, 2016 at 12:42 am
Right?! That wind coming off the lake could almost lift a person off their feet & blow them down the street; and was so cold & sharp, I sometimes thought I had been cut with something sharp!
Gary Shultz on May 22, 2016 at 6:22 am
Hi Remi: Like Hnspoor, it is an awesome experience to see a massive thunderstorm. There is the feeling, like recorded in different places in the Old T, of power in natures movement. It is not nearly as nice to be out in it, especially on the water. Christ certainly brought it to the disciples, right where they lived and showed His greatness with a few words. And that was what Christ was building in them, the knowledge of His greatness. They and we need to know who it is we worship and serve. Knowing God is not a blind faith thing, it is a growing thing, full of faith building experiences, full of studying His word and listening to His voice. As you mentioned, I think our goal would be to bring glory to God even in the storms of life. Thanks Remi.
remioyedele2015 on May 22, 2016 at 4:47 pm
Thank you, Gary!! You’re absolutely right – trusting God requires active faith, especially when our boats are filling up and threatening to capsize. Yet it is in those moments that God is most glorified if we would only be still and wait for His lead.
doctor-perspective on May 22, 2016 at 6:46 am
Though doubtless others have noticed, God’s Holy Spirit would have me think on a few additional perspectives in today’s Journey into Mark 4:35-41, and I gladly and obediently share some of them with you.
First, the disciples were in the “will of the Lord”. When God directs us to do something and we obey, we cannot ever be more in His will. And yet, the popular narrative would suggest that being in His will is a fail-proof protection from anything “going wrong” in our lives. Seems as if this is not always true, and perhaps, never true.
Second, whereas there is a category called “imaginary storms”, this was not one of those. This was a real storm, and like every real storm, they are not to be ignored even by the most pious of Saints. The waves literally came over the sides of the boat, the water literally began to fill the boat, and if nothing changed, the boat would literally have sunk. That is as real as it gets. Not having an answer of their own, the disciples were correct and right to call out for help for intervention, and for the arrest of the storm.
We err miserably, when we fail to cry out to God for help in time of trouble. The way the game is set, it is God’s design that there will be troubling storms. It is His dictate that we should call on Him for help. It is His declaration that he will deliver us. It is His desire that we should glorify and honor Him. (Psalm 50:15) I invite us all to call on Him sooner rather than later. They could have called before the boat began to fill with water, but as “expert” fishermen, they figured that they could handle the situation. And so do we. That’s a choice we have. But God is willing to “wake up” at the sound of our cry, whether it is at the beginning or in the middle of the storm.
Third, many of the storms of life are not selective. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Jesus was in one boat, but there were other boats in the immediate area. When at the cry for help of His disciples, He calmed the storm, everyone else in the area also benefited, even though they may not have cried to Jesus for help. The righteous of God is the salt of this world. Our relationship with God will not get a man or woman into heaven, but it will help to calm the storms of life for others. Then as we reflect the credit and praise to God, others will see our good works and glorify our Heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16).
More next time!
remioyedele2015 on May 22, 2016 at 5:05 pm
I love this in depth analysis, Dr. P; God bless you for sharing!!! 🙂
hsnpoor on May 23, 2016 at 12:50 am
Wonderful exposition, Godfrey! Love the lessons you pulled to the forefront & pray I will remember to call on the Lord sooner, rather than later. I really understand and get the importance of doing so. Thank you!
gagirllive on May 22, 2016 at 4:49 pm
Hi Remi and friends…What an encouraging devo to come home to today! All of your comments have been a blessing to me. There are a couple of things from this passage of scripture that I always try to get through my thick head. 🙂 First, Jesus—omniscient that He was—led them into the storm. He knew a storm was coming and He got in the boat with them. He said, “let US cross to the other side of the lake.” This teaches me that He goes into EVERY storm WITH me and that there is purpose and value in every storm…there is something for me on the “other side” of the storm. Second, He SLEPT during the storm. This used to trip me up because doesn’t scripture say that God doesn’t sleep nor slumber? Well, God in the flesh does. Jesus in His humanity was tired and weary of the crowd. Understandably, He wanted a bit of respite from the demands of His ministry. I believe Jesus legitimately needed that apparently deep sleep, but at the same time He was modeling to His disciples (then and now) that even in the storms of life we can rest if we have faith that He is “in the boat” with us and that He is greater than the “wind and the waves”. I have a friend that I often talk with late in the evening. We share our struggles and pray for one another. One of the things that we are fond of saying at the end of our conversation is, “Now give it to Jesus and go to bed”. In other words, remember who He is and go to sleep worry-free! Knowing this truth, we can go to sleep right in the midst of our storm because of the confidence and security we have in our dear Savoir. We can rest deeply in Him whether the winds and the waves cease or not. I love the lyric to the song that says, “Sometimes He calms the storm but other times He calms His child”. Is Jesus still asking us today….”Where is your faith?” I pray that we can all say that it’s securely in Him because of who He is. So true, Remi— He is greater! Grace and peace, family.
hsnpoor on May 23, 2016 at 12:57 am
Yes, we can rest in the Lord during the storms in our life. worrying about the turmoil only intensifies the storm. Good points very well spoken! I trust you’re back home from your trip, safe & sound?
gagirllive on May 23, 2016 at 8:54 am
Yes, hsnpoor…back home safe and sound! Thank you, friend!