The storms that come
Three times in scripture it tells of the Lord falling asleep in the boat as they were crossing the sea….and a storm coming up.
Their little boat, quite capable during night sails….for they often fished at night….was “in jeopardy” (Luke 8:23)…
……”it was now full” (Mark 4:37)
….”the ship was covered with the waves.” (Matthew 8:24)!
How tired our Lord must have been….to sleep through this storm…the waves pitching the boat up and down…
….and yet there is more to it than that.
He had said, “Follow Me.”,… “Let us pass over to the other side.”…”let us go over”.
And He was perfectly at rest…..knowing that where HIs Father had sent Him, He would go.
Let us speak of storms….the torrential rain storms….the wind storms….the storms which whip up the waves which surround us, till we are almost drown.
Isaiah 25:4 “For Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.”
Our enemies (the terrible ones) often come against us….like the storm that hit the disciples in the sea….a storm of wind….a tempest!
And there we are, like the disciples, in our little boat….seeing the storm…
….feeling the storm…
…..and then seeing the damage the storm is causing….
…and our fear, growing with every wave coming into the boat.
“Lord, save us: we perish.”
“Master, carest Thou not that we perish?”
“Master, master, we perish.”
In every record….they thought that they were going to die.
And that all of them together could not effect a deliverance. Their boat, and all on hand were going down.
Now I want to mention here, again, the perfect rest in the Will of the Father that Jesus had.
With the water coming in….and I’m sure the shouts of the disciples one to another about the storm and getting wet….yet He was asleep.
But as soon….(and how marvelous a thought this is!)….as soon as they cry to Him for salvation….He hears, and answers…..in action.
In all three accounts….Jesus arose….and rebuked the winds. The winds must have been the beginning of the storm…the cause of it. And at Jesus rebuke, the wind ceased.
Rebuke here means to forbid, to censure.
(Most expositors believe that this sudden storm was an attack of the Adversary against the Lord and His disciples. And what a storm it was! But, again, the perfect peace that the Lord Jesus had….so much so, that he slept through the raging fury against this little boat!
What an example of the peace He offers us!
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” [“Let” is an interesting term…suggesting that we yield to the temptation of “fear”….or we yield to the peace Jesus Christ gives.])
Then there was calm! And what was the rebuke to the winds? “Peace, be still.”
But then….and this too is wonderful…..Jesus rebukes the disciples about their faith:
In one, He says, “how is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)
(plainly, He is probably speaking to those who said….”carest Thou not that we perish?!”)
In one, He says, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25)
(I believe He said this to those among them that cried, “Master, master, we perish!”)
In one, He says, “…O ye of little faith” (Matthew 8:26)
(I believe that He says this to those among them that cried, “Lord, save us, we perish.” For these men were the closest to being right.)
And what was the cause of the problem with their faith….”Fear”
(This “fearful” is having dread in the heart….to be timid)
As John pointed out later, to the churches….”fear hath torment” (1 John 4:18)
Sometimes fear overtakes us…like the wind and the waves, almost drowns us in seeming uncertainty….
…..and fills our eyes with…“we perish”.
That is one of the reasons why I think this experience is recorded three times…..so that we can read the lesson….and take hold on His example of peace in God’s Will.
For the pillow He rested His head on was the sure Word of God to Him….the Will of God for His life here….and the Power of God to control every aspect of every circumstance for Him.
And we can rest our head….and heart on these, as well….
…..in the storms that surely will come.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 