35 That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side.”
36 Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus along in a boat just as he was. Other boats were with him.
37 A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. 38 But he was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat.
So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
39 Then he got up, ordered the wind to stop, and said to the sea, “Be still, absolutely still!” The wind stopped blowing, and the sea became very calm.
40 He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”
41 They were overcome with fear and asked each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
Read Mark 4:35-41 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Of all the events in Jesus’ life, one stands apart in my mind as being an amazing example of trusting God. While there are big events like the cross and the resurrection at the close of His earthly ministry, and there are big events like His baptism and the temptations in the wilderness that open His ministry, during His three and a half year ministry, Jesus’ daily routine seems pretty similar: heal, teach, preach, and travel around. We might simply call Jesus an Ambassador for God.
It is during this time of ministry, one of the events that stand out the most is our passage for this entry, which is where Jesus is caught sleeping through the storm. “A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. But he [Jesus] was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat.” (v. 37-38a)
If I understand the geography of the area, flash storms were very possible on the lake they were crossing, and this doesn’t sound like just any storm. This was a storm that had the boat filling up with water faster than the disciples could bail the water out – and Jesus was sleeping through it.
Simply being able to sleep through a storm where you are being splashed with water, tossed about, and in the midst of high winds says something incredible about Jesus: Jesus had 100% trust in God’s plan and His protection.
Jesus knew that His death was going to be on the cross at the hand of the Jewish and Roman leaders and that it was not going to be at the bottom of the lake they were crossing. So regardless of what happened leading up to the big weekend death, Jesus knew God was protecting His life and the lives of the disciples, and this allowed Him the peace that He could sleep through any storm that came.
With Jesus as our example, seeing that He was able to sleep regardless of what came His way, as His followers, we should also have complete 100% trust in God’s plan and protection for our lives. While storms can start and stop in an instant for each of us, God is still in control, and no experience or event that comes our way will be wasted if we let Him work in and through us.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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