Mark 4: 36-41

Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They became much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

When Jesus was on the water with His disciples, keep in mind that other boats were with Him on the water. Who knows who the people were on these other boats. Some were probably those who believed in Him and some just along for the ride for whatever reason. When this storm arose they were all at Jesus' mercy. But what was Jesus doing? He was sleeping peacefully. Yes Jesus needed sleep. So many came to Him with all kinds of need and Jesus always gave of Himself. He needed to rest too. But was He sleeping because He didn't care about the storm or the people? Of course not. It is because He knows. His knowledge and power made Him aware that they would all be more than fine and sadly even though these men had been with Him all this time, they still lacked faith. Aren't we often like this?

Despite God's sovereign hand in our lives, aren't we quick to doubt at the first sign of trouble? Do we really think that the very God who created the universe and everything within it cannot handle the details our lives? After all this time of walking with Him (I've been walking with the Lord for 13 yrs now) do we still find ourselves asking "Who is this that even the wind and waves obey Him?" Hasn't He proven Himself to us enough times. Don't we know that He will never fail us? His track record is unmatched and perfect. He is able to quiet the storms and bring "a great calm." He is able to bring us to it and carry us through it. He fights for us and when He is with us, there is no doubt that you will come through victorious. It is a matter of how we perceive things and our level of faith. The disciples had much to learn. Often, so do we. But He is loving and more than patient with us. Thank God for that :)