Read Mark 4:35-41
The squall hurled down upon the disciples with such a sudden ferocity that they feared for their lives. This wasn’t unusual to the tranquil waters of the Galilee. The Northern winds could convulse and rampage upon the valley like a rushing bear, and those placid waters excite to lethal surges and troughs.
Life has a way of doing that. We just want a peaceful transport from here to there. But suddenly, the devouring mouth of the storm erases all blue skies and causes all dark doubt and uncertainty. It is possible to drown in such storms and lose our faith and way in such a wilderness of waves.
And where did they find Jesus in their moment of faith crisis? The scriptures are brutally honest, “sleeping on a cushion.” Not just oblivious but seemingly unconcerned about their peril. Waves are breaking into the boat and drenching the desperate sailors. The ship is violently rocketing and tossing about, and Jesus is inexplicably, inhumanly asleep on the guest-of-honor’s plush cushion of privilege. It offends our sense of decency—as if our house is burning down and our next-door neighbor is watching late-night television. The disciples’ acute distress comes out in their petition, “Don’t you care,” they say to Jesus. “Don’t you care if we drown?”
The Deepest Question
That is a potent question, isn't it? It is a question of fundamental honesty that we all need to know the answer to on the deepest possible level. God, don’t you care? Like when Mary and Martha both passively accused Jesus of not showing up to save their brother. Where were you? Why did you delay? You could have saved him, but you did nothing about it. Life has a way of cooking up deep insecurities in our souls. And God, almost remorselessly, pushes us to the limits of our trust.
To the ancient mindset, the wind and waves were thought to be forces controlled by supernatural powers. To most Mesopotamians, Baal, the storm god, instigated the angry winds, and Leviathan, the chaos monster, lived in the non-orderly waters. The storm had exposed a mortal fear deep within these veteran fishermen. Deep within their unconsciousness, they were being whipped around by fear and powerlessness.
The Bible almost shrugs its shoulders at how easily Jesus dispatches the wind and waves. He rebuked them like he had rebuked the demon (1:27) three chapters earlier—with ease! It was a reminiscent reversal of when Almighty God moved Red Sea waters with the wind from his nostril. It demonstrated unbridled and awesome authority over natural and supernatural dimensions. There is no place in heaven or under the earth that doesn’t respond to his command. But it’s not enough to know that. He wants you to TRUST him with your life.
By this point in the story, Jesus is relentless. He pivots to his disciples without expressing a single word of sympathy or compassion for their troubles, and he challenges their lack of faith. They, on the other hand, are literally terrified of Jesus.
Answering the Question
It is not out of callousness that the Lord provokes us to deeper trust; quite the opposite. He invites us deeper into his bosom to witness the world from inside of his arms of protection. “To voyage with Jesus was to voyage in peace even in a storm,” writes William Barclay. The Lord wants to settle the deepest question of your soul, “Don’t you care.” He wants you to know beyond all doubt that those things that intimidate you and batter your ship capitulate to his love.
So don’t let pain or discomfort dislodge you from your Father’s embrace. Don’t let the sudden wind shear of uncertainty get you turned around. Let nothing swamp your belief in his love for you. You are his beloved. Just as Christ the Son, amid the crisis, can rest peacefully in his Father’s love, so he is modeling the way for us to trust in our Father’s care. You are his beloved, and nothing and no one can snatch you out of his hands.
Tags: love, faith, jesus, trust, fear, disciples, crisis, storm, uncertainty, wind, waves
