From the Pastor's Heart,
September 2021
“Who can this be?” A profound question asked by a group of men and recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The men were disciples of Christ, who had just experienced a very eye-opening lesson from the Lord. Earlier that day, they saw the Lord preach to a crowd so large that He had to get in a boat to speak to them.
In that message He shared the parables of the Sower, with the four types of soil, the Light Under a Basket, the Growing Seed and the parable of the Mustard Seed. Upon finishing His message, He had His disciples join Him in a boat and started to cross the sea. The Lord, being tired from the long day of preaching and teaching fell asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat.
Needing rest showed His human side but the disciples and others that followed in other boats were about to see His divine side. For as they were crossing the sea there arose a terrible storm; a storm so bad that waves were coming inside the boat and it was in danger of sinking.
Some of these disciples were fishermen by trade and knew how to deal with storms at sea. Yet the Scripture says that they woke the Lord saying they were perishing (Matt 8:25). These are the same men that saw the Lord Jesus heal a leper just by His touch, the centurion’s servant just by His Word, and the Apostle Peter’s mother-in-law through both His touch and Word. Additionally, they witnessed numerous other signs and wonders Jesus performed during His time with them.
Yet in all three Gospels we find them waking the Lord and crying that they were going to die. Upon being awakened from sleep the Lord simply rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” (Mark 4:39). Notice that He first spoke to the cause of the sea’s waves. In other words, He dealt with the cause of the problem, and then healed the effect.
Many times we want to deal with a problem without dealing with its cause. We experience problems with our health, but don’t deal with what is causing the bad health. We struggle with our finances without focusing on why we are in financial difficulty. We want our family relationships to be fixed but don’t address the reasons behind the turmoil. The waves were coming in the boat because of the fierce wind, so the Lord rebuked the wind, and then spoke to the sea.
The main lesson here in Mark was for the disciples to have faith, but there is another hidden lesson for us. Yes, we need faith in the midst of storms. The Lord was asleep but He was still in control; something we should never forget. But remember this lesson too, that the Lord dealt with the cause of the problem first.
The disciples didn’t ask for the storm but just like the storms we find ourselves in today the Lord brought them through it. Unfortunately, sometimes we put ourselves into storms of our own making. The cause can be due to our own sin or poor decisions. However, as Christians we know that whatever the cause or whatever the storm, the Lord is always with us and loves us. He will guide us not only through the storm but will also lead us in correcting the cause.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23-24
God bless,
PK