To Encourage You

Mark 4:39 “Peace! Be still!”

Jesus’ words have awesome power for they come from the mouth of an awesome God.  We see evidence of this in the verse above from the account of Jesus in a boat with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee during a violent storm. The disciples feared for their lives and cried out to Jesus for His help.  It is at this point that Jesus spoke the words above to the storm – and it obeyed Him! Then he spoke to the disciples with these words: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”  It was because of the storm that raged outside that the disciples had a storm raging within their hearts.  But Jesus patiently rebuked them and reminded them that it never has to be this way if they would only believe in Him.  His question, “Have you still no faith” could be rephrased into “Why don’t you trust me? Why are you still doubting my presence, power, and promises?” At this, the astounded disciples remarked, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”  Which raises the question, “Why don’t we obey Him in the same way?”  Do you realize that the phrases “Fear not” and “Do not be afraid” occur approximately 33 times each in God’s Word?  Everywhere we look we see this command. But do we obey it?  And just as Jesus spoke to the wind and waves the words, “Peace! Be still!” hasn’t he given us these same words to address any storm that might come into our life?  What Jesus was telling the storm was essentially, this: “Be quiet, and stay quiet!”  Likewise, in the face of any trial, if we will but trust in the God Who is more powerful than anything in this world, we can say to any inner turmoil that might arise in our hearts: “Be quiet! Be still!”  It is when we trust the Lord that we can have great peace within. 

Do you realize that almost every single epistle in the New Testament begins with some form of the following statement “Grace to you and peace from God our father”?  Then in Ephesians the Lord tells us that one of the pieces of spiritual armor that He has given us is “shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15).  He’s telling us that as we walk through this life and the inevitable storms come at us, we don’t need to be tossed to and fro by them. Rather, we can be ready with the gospel, the good news, which is the message that we have peace with God. It’s something He’s proclaimed to us over and over, and it’s a no less powerful word than Jesus spoke to the Sea of Galilee as it raged.  It is in the times of turmoil that we all face at one time or another that we can remind ourselves of Jesus’ powerful words, “Peace!”  It’s His will for us! More than that, it’s absolutely true for us, for every single person who has put their faith in Him can say with confidence “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). It is because of this awesome truth, if we will but believe it, that we can “be still” no matter what. 

So, are you in the midst of a storm right now?  Are you being tempted to be tossed to and fro?  If so, please know that it was not just to the wind and waves on the Sea of Galilee that night long ago that Jesus said “Peace! Be still!” He’s also saying it to you.  The question is, will you obey Him?  Do you realize that even the wind and the waves do?