Have you ever wondered if Jesus was asleep while you were living though a major crisis in your life?
It seems the Apostles had this exact experience one night while Jesus was with them:
And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And He awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mark 4:37-40)
It might seem reasonable to ask why Jesus sat back and allowed the Apostles to endure this frightening experience. Why would He be found resting so peacefully while they were in such distress? Why would He even have allowed them to find themselves in this situation in the first place? After all, weren’t they His disciples? Hadn’t they committed their lives to Him? Didn’t they leave everything to follow Him? Why, then, would He allow them to go through this storm?
There are many in our world today who seem to be asking the exact same questions.
Perhaps, instead of wondering why Jesus would allow His Apostles to experience these fearful events, we could look at this Scripture verse another way. In other words, why would Jesus Himself not be awakened and bothered by the risk the storm presented?
Although He was divine, He was also a man. His own crucifixion proved He was not free from the suffering at the hands of other men, let alone the weather, which we all know can be very destructive and even deadly.
How was it then that He was able to experience peace in the midst of this storm? He was not even the least bit disturbed by it. He was apparently calm enough to stay fast asleep. Why did the Apostles have to awaken Jesus for Him to realize there was a storm that needed to be dealt with? Did He not care about their fears?
Rather than viewing His sleep as indifference to their plight, perhaps we could see in the Lord’s actions the very mindset He wishes us to have in the midst of life’s storms. Remember, as they went to awaken Jesus, they referred to Him as Teacher; and indeed, there is a lesson for all of us in this passage.
The Lord’s reaction was not one of indifference to the storm. Rather, it was a peaceful recognition that the storms of life will never overcome us. Our greatest challenge is not the violence of the storm. Rather, it is our own fear and lack of faith. God will always be in complete control of the crashing waves and howling winds; therefore, we should never allow them to bother us.
Indeed, where we ourselves should be found is sitting in the stern (back) of the boat with our Lord, resting, even in the midst of the greatest storms in our lives. What Jesus is actually demonstrating in this story is not indifference or being overcome by sleep. Jesus is showing us that we ourselves must be at peace in the midst of a storm. Another way of looking at this verse is that Jesus is rebuking the crashing waters, the gusts of wind and the storms that rage in the human heart.
Look closely at what Jesus says to the storm: Peace, be Still.
This is exactly what He speaks to our heart.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. (John 14:27)
Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
If we want to be in the presence of Jesus, if we want to hear what He has to say to our hearts, if we want to hear Him quiet the storms in our lives, we must first be at peace in ourselves.
Jesus directs a question to the Apostles. He does not say, “Why didn’t you wake me sooner? Instead, He wants to know why they were afraid and where was their faith.
We might interpret the message of this passage as Jesus saying to us, “I rest in peace in the middle of life’s storms, and you should abide with me and find rest as well. Do not fear but have faith.”
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for thou alone, O Lord, makes me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)
Please take some time to pray we might all find our way to the back of the boat in the midst of the current storm. Let us pick a spot very near our Lord, maybe even lying on the very cushion where He has placed His head; and let us abide there in Peace.
Copyright © 2024, Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit: “Christ Asleep During the Tempest,” Eugène Delacroix, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons