Take a moment today to read and quietly reflect on this passage from the gospel of Mark. Set aside any distractions and allow yourself to be full present with this passage and absorbed into this scene.
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 NIV
Imagine the fierce power and sheer force of the wind and the waves as they beat upon the boat. Yet, for all their might, the words of peace spoken by Jesus suspended the course of nature and brought instantaneous calm to the turbulent sea. The forces of nature recognized the voice of the one who made them.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
— Genesis 1:1-2 NIV
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
— John 1:3 NIV
Take a moment to give names to the waves that you feel crashing around you today. Perhaps a difficult assignment, a struggling friend, an argument with a parent or sibling, or worry about an unknown future. What feels like storm right now?
Now listen to this promise.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
— John 14:27 NIV
This is the promised peace that Christ won for us through his death and resurrection. We see evidence of this when, after his resurrection, Jesus appears to his troubled disciples with these words of comfort.
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
— John 20:19-22
May God’s Spirit bring peace to your soul today that you might sing and say:
“And through it all, through it all, my eyes are on you, and it is well with me.”
Finally, to finish today’s devotion, watch, listen, and sing along to the video below.
