Peace, Be Still

The disciples were afraid in a real storm. MARK 4:39 (ESV) says Jesus awoke, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

This passage does not shame them for noticing danger. The storm was real. The boat was filling. The fear made sense from a human point of view. But Jesus asks, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" He is teaching them to see Him rightly in the storm.

Fear grows when circumstances look larger than Christ. Faith grows when Christ is seen as Lord even over what we cannot control. The One sleeping in the boat was not powerless. He commanded creation with a word.

PSALM 107:29 (ESV) says, "He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed." The authority of God over the storm is not a small comfort.

Bring your storm before the Lord. He may calm the circumstances, or He may first calm the heart by revealing His presence and authority. Either way, He is not panicked. The winds know His voice. Trust Him in the boat.

The disciples learned something about Jesus that calm weather had not shown them. Storms can reveal fears, but they can also reveal Christ's authority. Do not waste the storm by only staring at the waves. Look at the One who is with you. His question, "Have you still no faith?" is not cruelty. It is an invitation to trust Him more deeply.

The calm after His word shows who He is. Creation obeys Him. So bring Him the storm outside you and the storm within you. His authority is not fragile.

His peace is not fragile either.

He is Lord before, during, and after the storm.