The Storm on the Lake

“Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” — Mark 4:41

One evening, after a long day of teaching the crowds, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.”

So they left the crowd behind and set off across the Lake of Galilee in a boat. Other boats came with them too.

Jesus was so tired that He lay down in the back of the boat, put His head on a cushion, and fell fast asleep.

Then a terrible storm blew up. The wind howled, and huge waves crashed over the sides of the boat, so that it was filling up with water. Some of the disciples were fishermen. They had been on the lake all their lives. But even they were terrified. They were sure the boat was going to sink.

And Jesus was still asleep!

The disciples woke Him up. “Teacher!” they shouted. “Don’t You care that we’re going to drown?”

Jesus got up. He spoke to the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”

And at once the wind stopped. The waves went flat. Everything was completely calm.

Then Jesus turned to His disciples. “Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still not have faith?”

The disciples had been frightened of the storm. But now they were filled with a different kind of fear. A deep, trembling awe. They looked at each other.

“Who is this?” they said. “Even the wind and the waves obey Him!”

Who can tell the wind to stop blowing? Who can tell the sea to be calm? Only the one who made the wind and the sea. Only God.

The disciples were beginning to understand who Jesus really was.

Did you notice something? Jesus was in the boat with them the whole time. Even when He was asleep, they were never in any danger, because He was there. They didn’t need to be afraid. They just needed to trust Him.

Sometimes life feels like a storm. Things go wrong, and we feel scared. It can even feel as if Jesus is asleep and doesn’t care. But He does care. He is with us in the storm. And there is nothing, not even the wildest storm, that doesn’t have to obey Him.

Read it in your Bible: Mark 4:35–41

Dear Jesus, thank you that the wind and the waves obey you. When I feel afraid, help me to remember that you are with me, and to trust you. Amen.