Mark 4:35-41 Fear or Faith: Facing the Storms of Life

Lord, please speak through my words, and touch our hearts and minds to transform us into the people you wish us to be. Amen

As a child growing up in Cumbria, I used to do a lot of sailing, particularly on Derwentwater. Most of the time, sailing was wonderful hobby, but if you got caught in a strong wind it could be utterly terrifying. So I identify with what the disciples must have felt when they got caught in a storm on the sea of Galilee.

I want to think about how we respond to the storms in our own lives, the times when we feel we are drifting in the sea, and being battered by the waves that live throws at us. How do we respond to such situations in our own personal lives?

The sea of Galilee lies 680 feet below sea level, and is surrounded on all sides by mountains. Because of its situation the sea of Galilee is subject to sudden and severe storms. Whilst Jesus and the disciples are crossing the lake, a sudden and very violent storm develops. A number of the disciples were experienced fishermen and sailors, so they knew of the dangers that the sea of Galilee could pose. Yet even they were caught by surprise by the suddenness of the storm and were terrified. The waves started swamping the boat, and they go over to Jesus who was sleeping in the stern, the most sheltered part of the boat, and they shake him so he will wake him up. And they cry out, "Master, master, we’re going to drown! " Then Jesus, gets up, rebukes the wind, and commands the waves to be still, and suddenly the storm stops. The wind and the waves obey Jesus. Then Jesus turns to the disciples and rebukes them saying, "Where is your faith?".

In the story we have just heard there were two responses to the crisis that faced Jesus and his disciples. The first was fear, the second was faith.
The disciples responded with Fear. When the storm hit them they panicked, and in Mark’s version of this story, the disciples rebuke Jesus for sleeping. Teacher, are we to drown for all you care? (v.38) It is easy for us to respond to a crisis with fear, to feel that we are being overwhelmed by circumstances. The disciples panicked because Jesus seemed to be unaware and unconcerned about the storm, and sometimes when we are going through similar times of turmoil it can feel that God is distant, and not aware of what is taking place in our lives. There is a healthy fear that keeps us alive and well - that moves us into action and that sends us in prayer to God. That is a fear that goes hand-in-hand with faith. But often fear keeps us from trusting in God, just as it kept the disciples from trusting in Jesus.

Compare now how Jesus responded to the storm. Whereas the disciples responded in fear, Jesus responded through faith, and challenged the disciples to do likewise. The very fact that Jesus was able to sleep in the midst of the storm, showed that Jesus not only placed his trust in the abilities of his disciples but he also placed his trust in God the Father. Jesus rebuked the disciples lack of faith in him (v.24), and challenged the disciples to place their trust in him. He challenged them to put their trust in the true sovereign Lord, who has power over all things. The disciples are left asking the question "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

The one who created the sea, is the one who controls it. We see this in the Old Testament where all creation must submit to the will of God. The God who parted the Red Sea, is the one who commanded the sea and the wind to be still in Matthew 8:22-25. Jesus challenged the disciples to turn from their fear, and place their faith in him. Stanley Jones writes that 'Faith is not merely you holding onto God, it is God holding on to you. He will not let you go.' Jesus did not abandon the disciples to the storm, he remained with them in the boat, and he endured the storm with them. Likewise when we go through the storms of life, God remains with us, we are never abandoned. However sometimes it is hard to let go of our fear, and to place our trust in God, this is why it takes a step of faith. So often we are like the man who fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down. And as he hung there he shouted out: "Is anyone up there?" "I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?" "Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can't hang on much longer." "That's all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch." A moment of pause, then: "Is anyone else up there?"
We need to let go of the fear which keeps us from faith, and to trust that God will care for us.

What can we learn from the stilling of the storm. First of all we must recognise that in our Christian lives there we will have to face storms. Yet for the Christian to be with the Lord, whether life's seas are running smoothly or not, should be enough. Being Christians does not guard us against problems in life, in fact Jesus said that by following him we would suffer more. There will be times when we will be battered by the storms of life, but what is important is that Christ goes with us on our journey. We are not alone. Jesus said "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

8 years ago, I worked for the Mission to Seafarers as a chaplain’s assistant, and one of my jobs was to visit the ships that came into port. On the ships I would often see a picture of a sailor clinging to the ships wheel in the middle of the storm, and behind the sailor would stand Jesus, holding the wheel, and guiding the ship through the storm to a safe port. Jesus does care for us, and guides us through the storms of life. We must not judge his care for us, or the state of our discipleship by the roughness of the seas over which we sail. When Jesus replied 'Do you still have no faith' to the fear of the disciples, what he wanted them to do was to trust him, to have faith in him. His very presence amongst them was all that was needed for them to survive. And the storm was eventually calmed, and as Christians we have that promise that one day the storms of life will be over for us, and we will find ourselves safe in the arms of Jesus. So when we feel like you are being swamped by worries, and fears, we have two choices, either to surrender to God and place our faith in him, or to surrender to fear.

To conclude, I want to read you the following words, which I have personally found encouraging.

Trust Him when dark doubts assail you,
Trust Him when your strength is small,
Trust Him when to simply trust Him
Seems the hardest thing of all.
Trust Him, He is ever faithful,
Trust Him, for his will is best,
Trust Him, for the heart of Jesus
Is the only place of rest.
Amen.

Let us pray: Lord God, when we face lives storms, and when you seem distant, may we know your presence with us, guiding, sustaining and supporting, and help us to put our faith in you. Our loving, and faithful God.
Amen