'Be still!’
Mark 4:39
‘Jesus said to his disciples: “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out…But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back…with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke…he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”…“Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”’ (vv. 35-41). Following Jesus doesn’t exempt you from life’s storms, so you need to:
(1) Remind yourself who’s with you – Jesus! Think about it: if Jesus can calm the storm, surely He can prevent it. But He permits us to go through storms to prove that we don’t have a problem He can’t solve. You may be powerless in the situation, but He’s not, and through it you’ll come to know Him in a way you never have before. His goal is to bring you out stronger on the other side.
(2) Trust what He has told you. When Jesus tells you, ‘Let’s cross to the other side,’ there’s not a wave big enough to take you under. The truth is, ‘We cannot stand in the storms of life based on someone else’s faith. We must be fully assured in our own hearts and minds’ (see 1 John 5:14-15). What has God promised you? Stand on it!
