“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” - Mark 4:40b
Have you ever been caught outside or in your car in the middle of a terrible storm? It’s a scary place to be when the weather is raging. Even when I’m thankfully inside, the windows rattle, the rain thunders on the roof, and I say a prayer for the weather to pass as quickly as possible. Can you even imagine the fear of Jesus’ disciples? The wind howled about them as they tried to keep their ship from capsizing while being tossed about in the waves. Yet through this understandably scary circumstance, Jesus slept.
The disciples misread Jesus’ slumber as a lack of care. When one can control the very wind and waves, one need not fear them. He slept because he knew no harm would come to him or his disciples. Still, as soon as his disciples woke him, he silenced the storm, causing his disciples to wonder.
How often do we do the exact same thing? Caught in the middle of a “storm” in our own lives, we feel abandoned by God. If he truly cared, why would he allow the storm to come in the first place - or when we cry out, not immediately send it away? Is God truly asleep when bad things happen to us?
As it says in Psalm 121, God “slumbers not nor sleeps” (v.4). He is watching over us, always, even in the midst of our storms. He has his own reasons why each storm is allowed, why each trial isn’t immediately lifted, and while we won’t always know the reasoning behind the pain, we do know that God will be with us through it, always.
I don’t know if you are in a time of struggle or peace, but I encourage you to have faith. To worship and wonder at the power of God, trusting that wherever life takes you, He is in control.
Lord, please be with me in times of trouble and times of peace. Help me to always know that through it all, you are in control and you are always watching over me. In Jesus name, Amen.