Jesus never promised us an easy ride. What He did promise is His presence with us wherever we go. For some reason, we in the western world, have mistaken ease for blessing. That has caused many believers to stumble in their faith. The way that the Lord leads us is rarely easy. The apostles of Jesus did not have easy lives. All but one were martyrs for their faiths. But He did promise never to leave us in those rough times.
Jesus had just finished a wonderful ministry time and was going to Gerasenes to minister to a demoniac. Jesus said in Mark 4:35, “Let us go over to the other side.” They were going to cross the Sea of Galilee. This would be about a twelve-mile journey during the middle of the night. Mark tells us there arose a fierce gale wind. The Sea of Galilee has been known to produce winds of over 80 miles an hour. That is hurricane-force winds. The waves were breaking over the boat, and the boat was filling with water. Jesus ordered this trip, but it wasn’t easy for the disciples. The disciples thought they were dying.
But we see Jesus sleeping in the boat. How could He sleep? Jesus knew where He was going. He knew that He had a divine destiny to fulfill. That was why Jesus could rest in the middle of a life-threatening storm. He knew where He was going.
His disciples also knew where they were going. Jesus had said for them to go over to the other side. They knew the purpose of God, but they allowed the storm to take control over their lives. Instead of believing what Jesus said, they believed what they saw and felt. We need to remember that several of these men were experienced fishermen. They heard stories of men who were lost in storms like this one. They may have known these men. The disciples had forgotten what Jesus had told them.
What was Jesus’s response to the storm? He got up and rebuked the wind and waves. Now let’s think about this. When did Jesus get the authority over the wind and waves? He was their creator and had always had authority over them. What He did was He used His authority to calm them. Why did Jesus allow this to happen? He allowed it to happen so that He could teach His disciples an important lesson about the power of His word in their lives. Do we really think that Jesus would have let them die? No! He stepped in when they had lost hope of survival. When they thought there was no hope, Jesus was there. He is there for us today.
Jesus then speaks to His disciples. The three gospels are written differently, but they all mean the same thing. Matthew records Jesus as saying that His disciples had little faith. Jesus was not talking about the amount of faith but the use of their faith. The disciples had faith but didn’t use it. Luke recorded Jesus as saying, “Where is your faith?” The disciples chose to believe what they saw over what Jesus said.
We all go through storms in our lives. As believers, faith is already deposited in us when the Word is sown in our hearts. It comes down to what we choose to believe. Choose to believe what God has spoken to you and not what others say. Choose to believe God more than the circumstances. If you lose hope, learn the lesson that Jesus is teaching you. Jesus is there no matter what you see or feel.