I have been reading in Mark 4. Verses 35-41 keep staying with me.
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. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?”
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.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
I love reading about Jesus for obvious reasons. Sometimes I think we forget that he was fully human when he was here. With all the obvious messages I have heard on these verses, it is the humanness that has stuck out most.
"When evening came...." The verses before these tell us Jesus had been standing on that boat all day long preaching to the crowds. Can you imagine how tired he must have been? But he couldn't just step off the boat and walk home to sit down on the couch and rest. First of all, he didn't have a home or a couch. Plus to step off the boat would mean stepping into the crowd who all wanted just a second to talk to him. His only option was to just push the boat off and go to the other side.
I can only imagine that he was asleep within a few minutes of putting his head down. So when his disciples woke him up about that storm? I don't know about you, but when someone wakes me up when I am exhausted I am GROUCHY. (Seriously fam... no comments here.) I know Jesus handled grouchiness better than I do.
But really I can't fault the disciples. I am pretty sure I know why God led me to these verse. This week has been hard. Bone weary. Heart breaking. Chest crushing. Hard.
To put it into perspective for you. At some moments, Donald's cancer has been small in comparison to some of the other things going on. Yes, just that hard.
In all of these storms I have found myself crying out, "Jesus! Do you see that we are sinking? I trust you. I believe you. My hope is in you. But, I feel like the waves are getting way too high and overwhelming. Please, Jesus, calm these storms!"
Then these last verses... "Even the wind and the waves obey Him!"
Those simple words have brought comfort to me.
That Jesus in his own moment of human exhaustion stood up and said, "Peace." and the wind and waves obeyed him. What comfort that is to me.
The disciples were so slow to understand, but I understand. I know. Lord, these waves are high right now. Gives us your peace.
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