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You Call It a Storm…

Writer's picture: Sista MercieSista Mercie

Suddenly a storm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink. Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep... Mark 4:37,38

One Sunday afternoon about two years ago, I quizzed my boys, as I often did, on the Sunday school lesson they had learnt earlier that day – Jesus Calms the Storm. Among other morals from the story, my younger son, then about four years old, said he learnt that “we should not sleep when we are in trouble”[LOL]. Of course he was referring to Jesus – he should not have been sleeping in the midst of a storm…


That episode in Jesus’ life was told by Matthew, Mark and Luke but I love Mark’s rendition the most (Mark 4:35-41). It really was a bad storm and Jesus must have been thoroughly exhausted to have slept almost through it. I have heard stories of people who slept while their houses were being burgled, on fire, or flooded… slumbers of fatigue. I think that was the kind of sleep our Jesus was relishing at that time. Have you ever told yourself you would just take a 10 minutes nap only to wake up after 5 hours? You really cannot cheat nature for too long.


So here is a physically-drained Jesus with his disciples at sea, crossing to ‘the other side’ when  they are suddenly buffeted by high winds and strong currents. Water is getting into the boat faster than they are able to bail out and their boat starts showing signs of sinking. They imagine themselves thrown into the sea – this torrent, foaming and fuming in ire… swimming won’t help… sharks may even be in there… They become even more frantic – bailing faster… shouting, yelling, praying… doing all humanly possible to save their souls… Then they remember Jesus! Yes, Jesus is in this boat. But… how come he has not done anything yet. Where is he now that we need him the most? We are his friends. He has helped people he never knew before…. Jesus! Jeeeeeeeesus!!! Asleep? At a time like this? You got to be kiddin’ me! Don’t you care that we perish???


One of the best counsels I got before I went into labour for the delivery of my first baby was: ‘When the pain hits you, resist the urge to open your mouth. Do not moan, shout, scream, hiss, speak, cry, pray, groan, etc. DO NOT OPEN YOUR MOUTH. Because once you do, you won’t keep shut after that. You will speak all manner of gibberish which will only help in sapping the energy you will need later when it is time to push’. Women who have experienced labour pains know that it is intolerably agonizing. I knew it was going to hurt but gosh! I was not ready for the depth of it. My brains were going to explode, it would seem, but remembering that wise counsel from women who had gone through it before, I would brace up – grab the sheets, shut my eyes tight and grit my teeth until each episode passed… because each contraction, painful as it was, always passed.


Christians who say they believe and trust God must learn this too; to be quiet in the event of a ‘contraction’. There are several examples in scripture where God demanded stillness from his children in the midst of chaos.  He told Jehoshaphat “You will not need to fight”; Moses said to Israel; “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord”, Joshua commanded  Israel “You shall not shout or let your voice be heard…” and to Jairus Jesus said; “Be not afraid, only believe”, then He went ahead and sent the wailers outside….


If you have kept a prayer-life relationship with God prior to a major conflict in your life, it would be easier for you to be calm when push comes to shove. If you have enjoyed the new creation life, the joy of the Holy Spirit, the peace of God when all was going great, it would be easier to hush when God says hush. Not easy in the sense of the word, but easier for you than for someone who has had no experience with the God of love. For, trust is mostly borne out of a relationship.


Why hush? Firstly, because it will pass – weeping only endures for a night. Birth pains come in bouts and only get more consistent when the delivery is imminent. After that, the agony simply dissolves. Secondly, because there is a natural tendency for you to speak amiss when you are frantic. When all hell is breaking over you, your prayers may be said more out of fear than in faith, your petitions become accusations, your praise sessions are led with the devil in focus, your worship becomes cries of ‘God abeg na!’… your lips are moving fast, your heart is beating faster and you later cannot account for some of the words you blurt out.


So the disciples realize Jesus is still in the boat after trying to save it and themselves; after being beaten and just before giving up… holding on to the last thread of hope left, they remember that they had the Messiah in their vessel all along… Do you chide them? Are you not that way sometimes – only falling on your knees when all hope is lost?


Master, you cannot be sleeping now seeing that we are in such a terrible place, not NOW Lord! We are going to die… My father is dying, my business is failing, my debts are piling, my body is pining, my heart is breaking… why are you quiet… silent… indifferent? Lord, do you not care?


Then Jesus gets up and calls to the storm –  “Peace! Be still!”, He commands. It is unclear what the disciples expected from him when they shook him up, because they are amazed that he could speak to the wind. Maybe they expected him to join in the frenzy and pray to his father in heaven as other times, or to join in bailing the water out of their sinking ferry, or maybe just to join in the pity party going on – the wailing of ‘We’re gonna die here!’…


Will God do it your way when you call? Most likely not, but at the end of the day the wind will cease and there will be a great calm.


Peace was in the storm all along… He only called it forth. Like He called light out of darkness, man out of dust and new corn out of the grain buried in the sand.… Peace! Be still!


Let God do the talking. Allow Him name the situation aright. Refrain from speaking idle words especially when you are in pain, confused, and do not know what next to do. Quieten your soul like an infant at its mother’s breast (Psalm 131). Do not label what you think God is allowing in your life when you cannot even see what is ahead of you.

That thing you call a storm… He calls it peace.


Sista Mercie


#Peace #GoThrough #Medispirations

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