Trust the Story

Mark 4:35-41

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!”

This is a rather famous passage of scripture, and a favourite for preachers to use by drawing applications for the metaphorical ‘storms of life’.

I found it interesting to just look at the literal storm situation in this narrative and observe a few things:

• He knew. Jesus deliberately took His disciples into what He knew would become a storm.
• He rested. Jesus was calm enough to sleep during the storm. He was not worried about the situation
• They mistrusted. The disciples assumed that Jesus didn’t care about their safety because He slept in the storm
• He spoke. Jesus had the power to make the storm stop just by speaking to it
• He challenged. Jesus questioned the disciples as to why they were so afraid in the storm
• They changed. The disciples had a change of perspective and realised that Jesus was no ordinary man if He had control over the storm!

The stories that we tell ourselves really matter in how we process the events of life. In this situation the disciples assumed that Jesus didn’t care about them, they became very afraid, and then they were surprised to find that He had the power to do anything about it.

These are natural human responses which we all have experienced. And yet the more that I get to know Jesus, the more I find that I can face whatever comes at me with faith instead of assuming the worst.

 I am learning to trust the story that God is writing for my life. He loves me and He is powerful enough to look after me, no matter what the circumstances may look like.

Lord, I thank you that You KNOW, You REST, You SPEAK, You CHALLENGE and I am CHANGED when I see You in my story.

Written by Shelley Witt