Storms

June 28, 2021

Yesterday as pastor Joe preached, he pointed out something in the text (Mark 4:35-41) I hadn’t before noticed. It’s the first account we have of Jesus stilling a storm on the sea, the second coming from the 6th chapter of Mark’s gospel. In v. 35 of this first account, Jesus says to his disciples, “Let’s cross over to the other side.” When the storm arose, they said to him, “Don’t you care we’re about to drown?” Somehow, it didn’t occur to them that Jesus had called them to the other side, not to the middle of the lake. Joe’s point was, “Whatever Jesus says will happen, will happen—every time. He doesn’t make promises he can’t or won’t keep.” 

And yet, as we read so many times in the Gospels, they are afraid…in this case, because they were looking at the storm instead of the Savior. They figured that because he was asleep, he had no authority and they were therefore left to their own devices. It often seems that way to us—Jesus must be asleep; after all, the storm continues to blow and it looks like we’re going down. But Jesus asleep in our boat is better than our best efforts in his absence. In the 6th chapter, they are once again in a storm, but this time Jesus is still on dry land, or so they think. It says there that they were straining at the oars, giving it their best effort to no avail. And when Jesus showed up, it scared them, just as it did here when he calmed the sea. They were afraid of the storm, but also afraid of the calm. 

We’ve all felt that one way or another. The storm blows and we’re afraid we aren’t going to make it. Everything we counted on evaporated—job, marriage, kids, friends, health. The storm blows hard. But when comes the calm, we’re just as fearful, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Jesus’ words apparently didn’t calm their fears, it just changed the focus of them. 1 John 4:18 tells us how to get rid of fear: perfect love. We are tempted to answer, “but my love isn’t perfect; that’s why I am still afraid.” No, our love is always imperfect, but God’s love for us is not. If we want to be rid of fear, it will come when we are able to grasp hold of God’s perfect love for us.

There is another facet to facing our fears. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us of the spiritual nature of fear when it says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.” Fear is not merely an emotion; it is a literal spirit that oppresses, destroys, and defeats too many people, Christians included. Until we recognize it for what it is, it continues to hide in the shadows, ambushing us as we walk by. Recognizing it, confronting it in the power of the Holy Spirit and by the love of God is how this spirit is cast out in the Name of Jesus. And how to tell if this spirit is nipping at your heels? The divine counterpart to fear is power, love, and a sound mind. When we recognize that we have power, ie control over our inner lives, when we understand how great is the love of the Father towards us, when we refuse to let fear fog our thinking, and when we take our eyes off the storm and fix them on Jesus, fear has to leave.

There is a bonus to all this. In v.36 of Mark’s story, he inserts a little phrase: “there were other little boats with him.” When he calmed the sea for his disciples, he also calmed it for those other little boats. We don’t face life’s storms in isolation, and when we allow Jesus to calm the storm in our hearts, it has a ripple effect, calming the storm for others, too. I know that when i am agitated, Linda feels the effect of the storm, and when Jesus calms it in me, he calms it for her, too. Whether at home, at school, at work, in the community, in church, stormy people carry their tempest with them, and it riles the waters of all who come near them. Conversely, when we hear Jesus calm our storm, the sailing is pleasant for others, too.