PEACE IN THE STORM

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 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. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 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?”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. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” Mark 4:35-40

(This week’s Boost is part of a weeklong devotion series that Pastor Tim Scarbrough recently sent out to his congregation based on a message Larry preached.)

Jesus and His disciples encounter a violent storm on the sea. While the disciples are overwhelmed with fear, Jesus is asleep with His head on a pillow, in the stern of the boat.

The disciples, who were full of fear, woke Jesus up. He rises, rebukes the wind and the storm ceases immediately. He then questions the disciples about their fear and their faith.

Jesus never said they “might” cross over to the other side. He said they “would!” The moment the words left Jesus’ mouth, the outcome was already settled. The storm that rose up out of nowhere didn’t change what Jesus had spoken.

But the disciples took their eyes off of the word of the Master and fixed them on the wind and waves. Fear grew. Panic followed.

So they woke Jesus up with an accusation wrapped in a question, asking whether he even cared that they were perishing. He had just told them where they were going; to the other side. The storm never disturbed Jesus because He believed what He said.

The disciples failed the test not because the storm was too powerful, but because they listened to every voice except the one that mattered.

When storm arise in your life out of nowhere, the question Jesus asks is still the same; where is your faith and what voices are you listening to?

What storms in your life right now are causing you to question whether God cares?

What has God already spoken over your situation that you have allowed the noise of fear to drown out? It’s important to identify the loudest voice speaking in your current struggle and then find a scripture that directly contradicts that voice.

Declaration to Faith: I want Gods Word to speak the loudest in my current struggle. I will commit to feeding the Word of God more than I feed the fear.