Yesterday, while reflecting with you about God’s peace, the encounter of the disciples at sea came to mind. Do you remember the story? It’s a lesson on peace that’s very pertinent for us in this season. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Mark 4:3 NIV
[39] He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
Cease & Settle
Cease and settle was a party phrase used by deejays when I was a child. It signalled the end of a round, or an invitation to be calm. We thought it was so chill. Just as if Y’shua had said, ‘Keep Calm, I’m Sleeping’ with a crown emoticon. What we didn’t realise was that ‘cease and settle’ also captured the essence of Y’shua’s words to the elements that early morning out at sea.
It had been a long day, and in the wee hours of the morning, the disciples were caught amid a violent storm. As suddenly as that storm came, they had not prepared for it. They might have even figured there was no need for emergency supplies, since Y’shua was with them. That is, until the storm struck.
Self-Check
How often do we pack and prepare for life without factoring in Christ’s presence?
Application
The truth is, whether they prepared for Y’shua or not, when the going got tough, all twelve disciples panicked. Practically, it didn’t make sense. They were fishermen, they should have been prepared for whatever came their way. If anyone should have been panicked, it should have been the human persona of Y’shua Jesus. He was a woodworker, not a fisherman. But He was fast asleep.
Siblings, that should have been a clue to those disciples. Whether they knew how to swim or not, Y’shua was far from perturbed. But in their panic, all they could see was the rising waves of the sea. They even forgot that as Creator of the universe, the wind and waves were His to command.
Isn’t that the same with us? We fail to realise that if God calls us, then God’s got a plan to see us through, whether we’re skilled or not. We panic at the hint of the sign of trouble, shouting out to Y’shua, ‘Do you realise we’re drowning?’
Siblings, I suspect that the ‘Cease and settle’ comment was as much for the disciples and us as it was for the elements. It was the end of that round of testing. The storm had to stop for whatever new thing Y’shua had in store. That calm following Y’shua’s command wasn’t only the silence of the wind and waves. I believe it included stunned disciples who were also obliged to obey the sound of Y’shua’s voice.
In our current situation, as we cry out in desperation; as we face life’s storms, can we see Jesus?
Do we hear His voice calming the storm without and within?
Might we recognise that Jesus is in the boat with us, so it is well?
Cease and settle
Peace be still
Point to Ponder
When we hear His voice saying, ‘Peace, be still.’ what’s our response?
