Be Still: God is with us!

Trevor S Ferguson

July 18, 2015

Mark 4:35-39
³⁵And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
³⁶And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
³⁷And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
³⁸And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
³⁹And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11
¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
²Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
¹¹The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

INTRODUCTION

Life is characterized by predictable periodic changes in natural environment. We can predictably expect that there will be morning and evening, sunrise and sunset, days, weeks, months, seasons and years. The order is set, so that morning always comes before evening, night follows day, sunrise follows sunset. The days of the week follow natural order, the seasons of the year also follow in their order – spring, summer, autumn, winter. We can count on this order. Similarly, in the human body there are predictable and progressive developments throughout the life cycle. Given a stable environment a baby will grow through the various stages from childhood to adulthood and the body will function efficiently enabling us to perform the various activities of daily living. This predictability in nature and in our bodies allows up to make plans as we go from day to day, and even for the course of our life. When life follows its expected course most of us are happy and comfortable.

From time to time however, unexpected and unpredictable events crop up in our lives, and seemingly turn our lives upside down. All of us in Jamaica are familiar with tropical storms and hurricanes. Every so often, these monster storms invade our shores, threaten life and property, destabilizing our lives, sometimes for weeks. We often worry about other natural events such as earthquakes, which have the capacity to be even more destructive than hurricanes. Then there are other events such as fire and floods, and even an unexpected shower of rain which may steer our lives off course. In the human body, our greatest fear is sickness, which often strikes unexpectedly. Added to that are the various accidents (motor vehicles, planes etc.) that can cause sudden death.

For most of us, we are at our best when life is comfortable and predictable! But what do we do when the storms of life strike unexpectedly? What so we do when life suddenly goes off course, and we are seemingly powerless to make corrections? Many of us become flustered, distressed and depressed. We live in fear that we may not make it through the storm! As a result our blood pressures go up, we experience headaches and pain, and we find ourselves unable to sleep at nights. Needless to say our fear only makes matters worse.

Often in these situations we find it difficult to pray and we keep asking God – Why? Why? Some of us begin to question the goodness of God, as we reason that if God was working on our behalf we would not be experiencing such turbulence in our lives!

I believe that many of us today are going through various storms, and may be wondering how we are going to get through it. Indeed, as a church we are currently going through our own storm, and many are worried because we not in control of the situation. The word of God to us today, however, is a word of encouragement. Despite the turbulence of the times, God is saying to us - Be Still! I am with you! Be not dismayed, I will not leave you! I will be your refuge and your fortress. I will be a present help, in this your time of trouble. I will ride with you through the storm and at the appropriate time, I will calm the storm. Be still, God is with us!

EXPOSITION

Let us look at the text in some more detail. The passage in Mark 4 illustrates the common reactions that we display in times of storm, and the power of God calm the storm. Psalm 46 is a song of praise, declaring the power of God to keep us and protect us we wade through the various threats and uncertainties that crop us in this life. Mark tells us that after Jesus had taught the people from a ship on the Sea of Galilee, they set out in the evening to cross over to the other side of the lake. Jesus (in his humanity) was weary after a day of teaching and went in the hinder part of the ship and fell asleep. Now the Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Tiberias is a landlocked body of water; it is approximately 7 miles wide and 13 miles long, and located deep in the Jordan valley. The lake is surrounded by mountains and its geographic properties often results in sudden windstorms. These storms result in turbulence and great waves which cause sailing to become extremely dangerous.

While the disciples were on their journey, one of these great windstorms developed, with waves battering the ship, and filling it with water.  They were in imminent danger as the boat could capsize or sink, either of which would result in certain death. While all of this was happening Jesus was still asleep in the back of the ship! The disciples therefore went to wake him, asking – “Carest thou not the we perish?”

I am sure that some of us can identify with situations like this. Our lives seems to be turned upside down, we feel like we are in the throngs of death and somehow we can’t seem to hear from God!  Job had a similar experience. In the midst of his great affliction Job declares:

^“ Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! … Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:  On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:” (Job 23:3, 8-9)

What do we do in such situations? Job himself has some answers. In Job 19:25-26, while still in his suffering he declares:

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:”

 

Today we can be assured that the presence of storms does not suggest the absence of God, or that God is not on our side. It does not suggest that God does not care, or that he will sit back and let us perish. Jesus is in the ship! He will get up, speak to the winds and the waves and restore calm to our lives.

Brothers and sisters, let me remind us that in this life we are not exempt from the storms; but we are assured today, that Christ is in the vessel. With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm.

Psalm 46 is a powerful and assuring psalm. This psalm can give us comfort and confidence when we face the storms, tests, and trial of this life. Look again at verses 1-3

 ^“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.”

I like how this is rendered in the Message translation:

“God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.  We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, GOD of angel armies protects us.”

The word of God today is that when we are in trouble we can hide and rest in God. Everything around may be in chaos and confusion, but God gives us peace in the midst of all this. It does not matter how big the problems are. God is bigger than our problems and he has the power to speak into the situation.

So what do we do in the storm? Verse 11 has the perfect solution – Be still and know that God is God! We can relax in calm confidence. Everybody else may be getting flustered but we can stay calm. How is it that we can be calm despite the turbulence? This calmness comes from the confidence that we have in our God. Because he is God, he has control over the Universe. Because we are his children He has our lives worked out for us. He will come and save us before it is too late. He will speak to the wind and calm the storms.

Let me stretch your faith a little further, for sometimes we see deliverance only if things worked out the way that we desired. We need to get to the point where we trust God so much that even if God does not deliver, we accept his Sovereign will and remain unshaken in our faith! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego modeled this in their response to Nebuchadnezzar:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”      

Job also says it well: “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God”

Our confidence in God is not limited to situations where he does what we desire, but we are so confident that even if things do not work out the way we expected, our faith will not be shaken. God is God, and whatever God does is well done.

So while the storms rage and the tempest blow, we will be still, because we know that God is with us. The Lord of host is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge!

APPLICATION/CONCLUSION

I challenge us today to lift our faith and rest in calm confidence in God. Though we pass through the storm, God is with us. Though we pass through the fire we shall not be burned. Let us trust in God completely. Be still, God is with us!