He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!"
Mark 4:39
Our current world is fraught with danger; fraught with rumors; fraught with worry and all manner of ugliness and confusion. I would even dare say; a perfect storm is brewing. It is easy to get carried away by the sludge; it is easy to get immune to the wickedness. It is easy to want to withdraw from it all and pretend, “sanity” will return. It is quite easy to normalize this corrosive, oppressive, unsound and ungodly environment. But this is not our resting place.
When the disciples found themselves in a similar predicament, they woke Jesus up. When the storm threatened to overwhelm them, they knew exactly whom to run to. They did not WhatsApp their kin, they did not send a tweet to their neighbor and they did not call their friends on the phone to talk about the ridiculousness of it all. Instead, they woke Jesus up; they went directly to the solution giver, because he was the only answer to their problem.
Dear friend, do you feel like you are sinking? Does this fast-paced, name-calling, ridiculous- tweeting, 24-hour breaking news cycle world overwhelm you? Do you feel as though you are in a life-threatening storm? It’s time to run to him and wake him up! It’s time to bombard the gates of heaven, and seek his intervention.
When the disciples sought his help, Jesus spoke to the waves and calmed the storm. He commanded, “Quiet! Be still!” He can do so again. Sometimes, however, depending on his purposes, he may not calm the storm, the waves may get worse. But if you wake him up, you will feel better knowing that his alert, all-knowing and all-powerful presence is right there with you. And as the Psalmist says, “Those who trust in the LORD, are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever (Psalm 125:1).
Dear Heavenly Father, All-Mighty and Everlasting King, we need you. We need your presence; we need your word; we need your wisdom and your guidance for these unsettling times. Give us a sense of urgency, so that we will do your good works, while there is still daylight. Most of all, Loving Master, give us your peace which endures despite the storm. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.