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?’
Mark 4:38 NIVUK
A number of years ago, we were on a cruise round Turkey and Greece. There was a tiny island on the itinerary – Bozcaada – where the town was so small that it didn’t have a port for the cruise ship to land. The solution was to ferry passengers between the cruise ship on the island using some of the ship’s lifeboats – a process known as tendering.
We thought this was a great idea, so we set off to explore the island. We headed down to the tender boat.
Now, the cruise ship was quite large and so was pretty stable in the water.
The tender, however, was not. It was bobbing up and down like a cork.
We wanted to visit the island and so decided to get inside anyway. The boat set off. The whole way to Bozcaada it was chucked about to the left and right and up and down on quite a large swell. Most of its occupants were feeling very seasick. But my daughter was completely fine.
She did the same trick when we went to visit the sea caves of the Algarve in Portugal in very choppy seas. My wife and I developed a much keener prayer life that day. She was fine.
Not everyone is built for choppy, stormy weather.
But here’s the thing: many of the disciples were experienced fishermen. You would expect them to withstand stormy weather.
They should be used to it.
Perhaps that should tell you just how bad it was.
The Sea of Galilee is prone to sharp, violent storms. Cool air rushing down its steep, hillly sides meets with warm air rising from the lake, which causes strong winds and terrible weather. That was what struck the disciples here.
You see, now we need to take a freeze frame of this difficult situation and think about it. The disciples are in great danger. Luke describes the waters as ‘raging’ (Luke 8:24). What this means is that the waves were surging and likely crashing into the little boat. So as well as the sharp motion, we also have the realistic possibility that the boat will capsize.
How do people react when faced with a situation like that?
I grew up watching an incredibly funny TV comedy called ‘Dad’s Army’, written by David Croft and Jimmy Perry. The premise was simple. It was the Second World War. The Nazi army was encroaching and was just on the other side of the English channel. The able-bodied men had been sent off to fight the Nazis overseas. The UK was being defended by men who were either too old or too weak to join the regular army, or had dodged the draft to stay at home. The comedy focused on these plainly incapable men.
Two of the characters in this brilliant comedy perfectly exemplify how people often react in crises like this.
One of them, a Scottish Highlander and funeral director, faced any issue, no matter how small, with the words, ‘We’re doomed! Doomed, I tell you!’
This is not a reaction we see in these verses, but it is one I've often heard in Christian company.
‘It won’t work.’
‘Why bother?’
‘It’s over.’
Despite the fact that our faith is all about victory – even victory over death – you would be surprised how much defeatism you find in the church.
But let me state this plainly. People who think like this achieve nothing. Nothing at all.
It’s this attitude that robbed the Jews of the Promised Land (Numbers 13:26-33). It’s this attitude that will prevent us from seeing God’s promises fulfilled in our lives too.
It’s never a good thing. It has to go.
The second character was a butcher – Corporal Jones – played brilliantly by the late comic genius Clive Dunn. His catchphrase when a problem arose was to run around blindly yelling, ‘Don’t panic! Don’t panic!’
This reaction of panic is what we see here.
Look carefully at the verses. See the desperation as they yell at Jesus ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
Classic panicky behaviour.
Panic sees the resources ranged against you, sees the resources you possess, and believes that success is impossible.
Panic causes you to lose all sense of reason and perspective.
Panic causes you to stick to behaviours that don’t actually resolve the problem, and in some cases make it worse.
Panic stands between you and getting out of there.
Yes, the disciples were likely bailing water from their sinking boat. But it clearly wasn’t working: the more they bailed, the more water came in.
The reason for this is because they were dealing with the symptoms of the problem, not its cure.
It’s a bit like the time I really hurt my back and was prescribed three medications: one for pain (which was so strong it got me high), one to relax my back out of spasm (which made my face feel like rubber) and an anti-inflammatory. The pain killer definitely killed the pain (and a whole bunch of neurons – or so it felt) but it only masked the problem: it didn’t do anything to fix it. However, the other two medicines did.
While the disciples are worried about the effects of the storm, Jesus cures the cause – the storm itself. While they are concerned with the symptoms, Jesus finds the cure.
And after He scolds the wind and the waves, He then rebukes His disciples.
Why?
Because their first reaction was panic until they lost faith instead of trusting in Him from the start.
One of those trips through scary conditions at sea was in the Algarve in Portugal. While the boat pitched and rolled in the choppy waters, my wife and I were both terrified. But our daughter, somehow, was not. We asked her how this could be.
Her simple, profound words have remained with me ever since.
‘I trusted the boatman. I knew he wouldn’t let us drown.’
Simple, profound words from a child that even experienced fishermen in their home lake struggled to hang on to.
Yet this, above all, is the key to managing panic:
Faith. Simple, uncomplicated faith.
Faith sees the purpose of God in the storm and knows that it will be fulfilled (Philippians 1:6).
Faith sees the giants but knows that our God is greater and will be victorious.
Faith looks at the resources we possess and feels the lack, but knows that our God will provide all we need.
Panic surrenders to the storm.
Faith calms it.
So, how would you rather react when the storm hits?
Because it will.
Questions
1. Why did the disciples panic? Should they have panicked?
2. Why did Jesus rebuke them?
3. How can you make sure that you trust Jesus the next time you face a storm in life?
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