“Quiet! Be Still!”

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35-41

The storms around us do not weaken. But if we ask God for help, we will never ever be given more than we can handle.

Jesus is no stranger to storms. He told His disciples to head across a lake that would soon turn windy. The storm that night tested and bested those rugged fishermen. They thought they were going to die. But Jesus calmed the water and then led His disciples to deeper faith.

Jesus, invites us to trust Him in our storms. Sometimes He miraculously stills the winds and the waves. Sometimes He does something equally miraculous: He steadies our hearts and helps us to trust Him. He asks us to rest in the belief that He has the power to say to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”

No danger can come so near that God is not nearer still.

Our Daily Bread - April 14, 2018