Jesus’ words silence my fear-driven life!

Storms are scary. The wind, rain, hail, thunder and lightning are far out of our control. When the bad storms come, it is important to know who can keep you safe. We are blessed to have parents, first responders, hospitals, power companies, insurance agencies, etc. who help us in the moment and after to stay safe and rebuild. In those storms and the other events in our lives that fill us with fear, it matters who is with us.

Fear creeps into our lives in many ways. Fear may creep into our lives as when we have to take a quiz in school or when we hear our friends talking about a birthday party that we were not invited to. Fear creeps into our lives when the pregnancy test keeps coming up negative or we get laid off in an already difficult job market and economy. Fear creeps in when our spouse’s behavior changes to apathy or anger. Fear creeps in when doctors switch from talking about curative to palliative treatment care for ourselves or a loved one. When fear creeps into our lives, it matters who is with us.

The disciples did not fully realize who was with them. In our Gospel reading from Mark 4, we pick up with Jesus and his disciples at the end of a long day. Jesus had spent the day teaching and doing miracles from what we hear in Matthew and Luke. Jesus was tired and we hear what his plans were in Mark 4,

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.

Jesus was ready to spend some time recharging his batteries. We see here the truth of Jesus as the Son of God and Son of Man who did not use his unlimited power to eliminate his need for rest, but he lived a relatable human life that needs a break at the end of the day. Then, we hear in Mark 4, the anticipated calm boat ride turned into a preview of the summer Olympics canoe slalom,

37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.

Storms like these were common on the Sea of Galilee because of its topography. In fact, boats often sank, and sailors drowned because of the sudden and violent storms. Many of Jesus’ disciples were seasoned sailors, but the storm became too much for them as we hear in Mark 4,

38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

We are not sure how Jesus could sleep through the storm, but we do know it was not what was going on that woke him. Instead, it was who was with him. Driven by fear, the disciples woke Jesus up.

Fear drives us because of our situation. Like we talked about before, negative situations like a quiz, rejection by friends or family, job loss, sickness, etc. surround us. We may not be able to relate to the disciples caught in a violent storm on a lake at night without any modern safety equipment, but we can relate to being afraid. It is not necessary for us to spend a lot of time offering different examples of what makes us afraid. It is enough to know our own fears, the things we would not dare share with others, and to know that we all have them despite the phrases we use to avoid talking about them like, “Everything is good,” or “I am fine.” Like the disciples, we are all seasoned sailors through the storms of life, and like the disciples we are all afraid. That is our situation.

We are not calm, confident, hopeful, at peace, etc. because we are listening to the storm, not Jesus. Howling wind and bone rattling thunder are real, our senses assure us of that, but so is Jesus. So, the reason we are afraid is the same reason the disciples were afraid. We have faith in Jesus as our Savior from sin, death and hell, but we struggle to have faith that he is with us through the daily storms. We are afraid because we live like Jesus is standing on the far shore, rather than riding out the wind, waves, wet, cold, sinking darkness with us in the boat. And the real danger with the kind of faith that does not look to Jesus during the daily struggles is that it might empty us of faith in him for the eternal victory. If you cannot trust Jesus in the small storms, then you may only have fear not faith at the end of your life.

When the disciples turned to who was with them, everything changed. In our Gospel reading from Mark 4, after, The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” We hear, 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Jesus silenced the storm with his words. There was no fear in Jesus. There was no epic battle. There was not a back-and-forth argument or negotiation between Jesus and nature. Instead, he spoke, and nature obeyed. Jesus had made specific promises to his disciples that they would be fishers of men, so he could not allow them to die in this storm. Otherwise, he would be a liar. It was not their time to die, nor was it his.

Jesus saved the lives of his disciples that night with his words. Later, with his words he taught them how he would again save their lives and ours in Mark 8,

31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

The disciples did not like hearing these words, but they were the good news. These words are the good news that Jesus endured a storm of rejection and suffocating as he hung on the cross. Jesus endured rejection by God for our sin, died and was buried. Then, he woke up three days later not because of his situation, but because of who he is. And appeared to his disciples so they could hear, touch and see that Jesus was alive. Finally, Jesus ascended into heaven through the clouds that he controls. Now, he rules all things for our good from heaven, while also being here with us as he said in Matthew 28, 20 … “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Jesus words change our fear into faith because he is the one who saved us.

Fear causes us to struggle to connect Jesus as powerful God and gracious Savior to our current situations. The disciples were afraid, but also had faith in Jesus. They did not look to themselves, Poseidon, Mother Nature or the universe, but Jesus. There is no other powerful, sentient, gracious, moral, sovereign being to call out to besides Jesus, besides the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A call to anything else is a call to the inanimate, the mortal or the demonic. The storm put their faith to the test in Jesus’ love, grace and mercy in that he would use his power for their good and to save them, which he did. Then, his words taught them and us how to weather any storm as we hear in Mark 4, 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Our Old Testament reading from Job answers Jesus’ first question,

4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? 8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, 9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, 10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, 11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?

These questions put us in our place and God in his. The one we ought to fear and stand in awe of every moment of our lives is God who laid the earth’s foundation, who limited the sea and the sky. That God was with the disciples in the boat, and he is with us every moment.

Jesus’ second question regarding faith in God to be with us in day-to-day matters, was answered in our New Testament reading from Acts 27. Paul and a ship full of people faced a shipwreck, but God shared his words to assure them they would survive,

23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

As with Paul, we can put our hope in God’s plan for our lives even through the difficult moments or seasons. We are not qualified to give all the answers to how long or severe a situation will be, but we do know who is with us. The disciples answered who is with us in the last verse from our Gospel reading from Mark 4,

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

The disciples grew in their faith to see Jesus as the great teacher, healer, miracle worker, their brother, scatterer of life-giving seed, and now the one who commands the wind and sea, but most of all their Savior.

Listen to Jesus’ words as a habit. Reading, studying and applying Jesus’ words to your life keeps your prepared for the storms, to recognize the first rumblings as the cue to open your Bible. Do not wait for the wind and waves to drive you to fear. Opening your Bible may not stop the storm, but opening your Bible allows you to pass through it without losing faith. Jesus is the one who goes through your life with you every day, and he is the one you will be with forever in heaven. Storms are scary. The wind, rain, hail, thunder and lightning far out of our control cause us to be driven by fear. Fear can drive our whole lives too. In those storms and other live events that fill you with fear, focus on who is with you. Jesus is with you. Jesus provides us with both earthly and eternal protection as the Creator of all things, the one who commands the wind and waves, and the one who died and rose to forgive our sins and give us an eternal home in heaven. Jesus’ words silence my fear driven life. Amen.