Peace Out...

Mark 4:35 On that day, when evening came, He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side."
36 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.
37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.
38 Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
40 And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

This is the well known story of Jesus sleeping in the boat during a life-threatening storm. The disciples are afraid and wake Jesus up. It’s interesting to note that they don’t ask Him for help. They merely want Him to be terrified too. It is unnatural to sleep in a boat during a storm and this display by Jesus rattles the disciples just as much as the fierce storm. Where does He get off sleeping, being perfectly at peace, in all this chaos? Is He not living in the same world as His followers? No, actually He’s not. Jesus lives in the keen awareness that He is not of this world. His kingdom is in Heaven and there are no boat rocking storms in Heaven. There is only peace in His kingdom. That is His reality and these Scriptures show us that it can be our reality as well. God’s kingdom is superior to this one and as believers it is our job to make earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). Jesus tells us the key to access this superior reality is faith. After He rebukes the storm He asks them about their faith. The implication being that if they would operate in faith, they too could’ve stilled the storm. According to the Lord we are able to move mountains by faith, why not calm a storm? So, why don’t we see more storms being placed under the authority of the Kingdom of God? I believe, at least in part, it is because the visible world around us is given more respect than the unseen kingdom of which we belong. Our hearts overflow with the reality we are submitted to. Jesus’ heart was filled with the peace of His Father’s world. That is why He could sleep when the natural world around Him was falling apart. That is why the disciples were falling apart; because their world was not at rest. Jesus releases peace and the storm is silenced. We release what fills our hearts. I don’t know about you but I would rather let the peace out.

-John Spraker
Director - Rock Club