The Calm Before the Storm

"And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."  Mark 4:36-39

I'm looking out my front window facing the East this morning as the sun begins to rise.  It's beautiful.  The sky is clear, with a pinkish hue in the sky.  No wind, and no snow on the ground.  An early Spring?  No.

The weatherman is predicting over a foot of snow with winds in a couple of days.  A storm he described as 'debilitating.'  Not a pretty picture, and yet we are preparing for this storm.

Not all storms can be predicted.

Perhaps you go in for a routine physical only to walk out of the doctor's office with a diagnosis you never expected.

Maybe you walked into work this morning only to be told they were laying off workers and you are one of them.

So many unpredictable storms.

We read about one this morning. Jesus and His disciples enter a ship for some rest from the multitudes.  It was calm seas as they set their sails, but an unexpected storm brewed, and the disciples became fearful.

Why?

Because they put their eyes on the Storm and not their Saviour.

In the midst of panic, they woke Jesus up and, in their fear, asked Him, "Carest thou not that we perish?"

It's easy for us to say that this was a silly question, but don't we ask the same thing when we find ourselves in an unexpected storm?  Only the question is a little different.  Instead, it's "Why, God?"

There is a calm before the storm, because we can't see it coming.

There is a calm IN the storm because Jesus slept.  (Even while Jesus slept, He still had absolute control over the storm.)

And there is a calm after the storm, because Jesus says, "Peace, be still."

In the world there will be great storms-

In Jesus there will be great calm.

We don't know what storm we will find ourselves in tomorrow...

    but we can know that Jesus is already there...

        And He is whispering, "Peace, be still..."

            But that's just me!

"The more the wind rages the more you feel that the anchor holds you."

Charles Spurgeon