“On that day, when evening had come, He told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was already in the boat. And other boats were with Him. A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, ‘Teacher! Don’t You care that we’re going to die?’ He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Silence, Be still!’ The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Then He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?’” – Mark 4:35-40
Depending on how long you’ve been in church, if at all, you’ve likely read this story of Jesus’ silencing the winds and the waves. Some pastors or Bible study teachers will read this passage as a way to show Christ’s power. Others use the passage to illustrate how we’re to trust God no matter the circumstance – but one thing that struck me when I read this passage during my devotional time recently was the second part of verse 35.
Did you catch it? It says “He told them.” That’s it. Jesus initiated the journey the disciples were on so in theory, they should have known to trust whatever came their way because they were already given Christ’s word that they would make it to the other side. I imagine, when the disciples wake him from his slumber Jesus was slightly perturbed. I imagine him thinking “Do you really think I brought y’all out here to die? What would that accomplish?”
In our modern day world, I think we’re extremely quick to judge these men as well because we’re thinking, “dude, Christ was in the boat! In the flesh! With you! Stop tripping!” But the Holy Spirit should fill us with the same peace and confident I’d imagine we’d have if Christ was in the flesh with us as well. We too are just like the disciples when God calls us to do something and we experience discomfort along the journey to get where we’re going. We ask ourselves and Him if He “cares not that we perish” when we’ve already been given the Word that He does because He initiated the path that we’re on. We have to believe no matter what happens between point A and point B, we will make it to the “other side” He has promised.
Note: We’re not given this same promise when we take our life into our own hands and decide we’re just going to make our own decisions with little input from Him. We’re told in Proverbs 3:5-6 to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.” When we don’t allow our paths to be directed by Him then we’re opening ourselves up to the unknown without the protection of a sovereign God.