God's peace despite turmoil
It is possible to have God’s peace despite the turmoil around, and sometimes even inside, us. In John 16:33, Jesus tells His disciples that in this world, we will have tribulations. These tribulations come to us in many forms. Some of these forms are war, racism, fear, hate, division, tenseness, hurt, pain, sickness, danger, deceitfulness, maliciousness, and poverty.
God’s Peace is Possible
The Gospel of Mark tells us that even the storms obey Jesus:
“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
(Mark 4:35-41 NKJV)
Background Info: Just before this event took place, Jesus had finished teaching a great multitude of people by the Sea of Galilee; we know these teachings as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus then cleanses a leper, heals the centurion’s servant, and heals Peter’s mother-in-law.
Many of us need God’s peace urgently. We feel like we are in the middle of a raging sea right now, fearful of what’s going to become of us. How often have we heard the phrase “Uncertain Times” recently? We are afraid of where all of this is heading and where it is going to drop us off. We feel like we’re in the middle of the storm on the Sea of Galilee. All of us have been directly affected by the tribulations in our world today. Some of us have been laid off and are looking for jobs, or the new job that we have doesn’t pay as well as the one that we had. Many of us have gotten sick, and we all know some that have passed away. Many of us have suffered some kind of discrimination. We can go on and on here. I am facing __________. Just fill in the blank.
God’s peace is not about the storms in our lives but rather the One who can calm these storms. In our text the disciples were in the middle of a serious storm on the Sea of Galilee, and they were fearful, they were anxious, and they were afraid for their lives.We need to remember that many of these disciples were fishermen; they had experience and were trained on what to do in the storm. They had been through storms before. This tells us that this particular storm must have been very severe. Jesus was a carpenter, not a sailor, yet He went to sleep and was perfectly comfortable with letting those who knew how to sail take care of the business of sailing.
When the disciples came to the point of even being fearful for their lives, they asked Jesus for help. As the scene plays out, Jesus rebukes His disciples for their lack of faith. He stands and speaks to the raging storm and commands peace, and much to the shock of His disciples, the storm obeys. God’s peace reigned.