Mark 4 v 35 - 41

The Sea of Galilee is notorious for its storms which seem to come out of nowhere, even from a clear, blue sky. Jesus was sat in the boat in the place where honoured guests sat, the little seat placed at the stern, where a carpet and cushion were traditionally arranged. He would have been seated near to the helmsman. When the storm blew up, Jesus addressed the wind and the waves in exactly the same way as He had addressed the demon-possessed man in Mark 1 v 25. Sometimes a storm is not just a storm (although often it is!) We can learn much more from this passage than just the sensational truth that Jesus has power over the weather! 1. Jesus gives us peace amidst our sorrows. When someone we love dies, we have the sure and certain hope that they are now with Him in eternity. Our grief is still real, but is essentially for ourselves. We do not need to mourn for the person who has died as they have gone on to far greater joys. I recently admonished a Christian friend who was bemoaning that a loved one would not get to see the football this year. The joys we experience now are just a poor shadow of the depth of glory to be experienced when we see God! 2. He gives us peace when the problems of life threaten to take it away. There are times in our lives when we have or will be threatened with lots of issues together. One we would have coped with, but when they come three or four together, they threaten to sink us. We get to the point when we no longer know what to do, we don't know which way to take and there are decisions to be taken quickly and perhaps relatives or dependent childrens' future happiness riding on that choice. Take time to ask Jesus what He would have you to do. Resist the urge to run around in ever increasingly frantic circles, but force yourself to be still. Take a day off work, go for a walk and ask Him that question. Submit yourself humbly at this vital point in your life to Jesus, to seek His guidance and to obey that. 3. Jesus gives us peace in the storms of anxiety. There are always worries in life-where would we be without worrying about something?-but Jesus speaks to us of a Father whose hand will never cause a child to fail and a love which neither we nor those we love-believing or unbelieving- can ever drift. In the storm of anxiety, He brings us the peace and love of God.