Resting in the Power of God's Peace
This is the eighth devotional in our summer series on "The Miraculous Acts of God."
“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” – Mark 4:27-41
In March of 1990, two men dressed as police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Mass. Their intent was pulling off one of the largest unsolved heists in human history. It would take less than an hour and a half for them to walk away with 13 of the museum’s art pieces.
The most famous to go missing that night was Rembrandt’s 1633 narrative painting, Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee. In it, Rembrandt depicts the famous encounter the disciples have with the living Christ in the midst of a deadly storm. In the far right corner of the painting, you see Jesus calmly reclining in the ship while everyone around him panics.
The painting is beautiful and haunting. Beautiful because it demonstrates the miraculous power and peace of God. Haunting because every Christian knows what it’s like to be on the ship — drowning in a sea of brokenness. Feeling that, in this moment, we will surely die.
Whether it be the unexpected loss of a parent, a devastating break-up or the loss of a job, we’ve all felt like we’re drowning. Perhaps you’re in that place right now.
When the disciples turn to Christ in crippling fear, they have only one question to ask him, “Don’t you care…?” Their biggest concern was not simply ending their suffering, but whether or not God cared for them.
At the bottom of everything, this is our heart’s deepest longing. In the midst of our suffering, we know God is real, but does he care for us? Does he still love us? If he’s real, why isn’t he taking action? Christ’s posture in the book of Mark gives us clues to how we, like Christ, can rest in the power of God’s peace.
First, when we look at Christ in the midst of the storm, he’s present. He’s not far from the disciples. He’s sitting in the very boat that’s thrashing about in the storm. He’s experiencing every wind and every wave. This is the God we serve.
In Jeremiah 23:23-24, God describes himself as a God who is both near and far. A God who fills the heavens and the earth. Acts 17:27 describes God as not being far from each one of us. In our suffering, he suffers. In our mourning, he mourns. We know that God never leaves us in the storm alone.
Secondly, Christ is taking the posture of resting. What can we make of this? Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a season for every moment—some good and celebratory and others sad and mournful. Christ himself throughout the Bible demonstrates all human emotions, mourning (Luke 19:41-44) and rejoicing (Matthew 18:13), in appropriate portions. We can look at how he responds to everything, including death and drowning, and we can do what he does.
Lastly, when Christ calms the sea, it’s a miracle that leaves the disciples in fearful awe. But he quickly turns to his disciples and questions their faith. We must take special notice of this.
Hebrews 12 teaches us that in the midst of suffering and temptation, we must fix our eyes on Christ. Why? Because for the joy that was set before him, Christ endured the cross. Christ himself fixed his eyes on future joy in order to get through present sufferings, and we must fix our eyes on him.
Psalm 94 teaches us that when our foot slips, God supports us. When we have anxiety and fear, God consoles us. God never promised to take away our suffering, but he shows us that he’ll be with us in the storm, that he’ll give us his supernatural peace, and that he still does miracles despite our unbelief.
The question isn’t whether or not God will be faithful to us, but whether or not we will be faithful to him.
Dominique McKay is a Ministry Associate in Washington, D.C.
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