That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35-41 NIV

You are likely familiar with the above passage of when Jesus calms the storm, but as a reminder I shared it to start this blog. Do you feel like we’re in the middle of a storm right now? I sure do. I know some areas in the United States are opening back up, but we are under stricter stay at home orders in Guatemala. I don’t know about you, but  I’ve been waiting for Jesus to come calm the storm. 

Last week as part of a silencing practice with Exhale, we did an activity looking at Rembrandt’s artistic representation of this passage, pictured above. We took some time to read the passage several times while looking at this painting and listening to what God wanted to speak to us through this passage. 

In our follow-up discussions, someone commented that the whole event started with an invitation from Jesus to go over to the other side. The idea of an invitation struck me as I often, especially now, focus on Jesus calming the storm. However, If I look at the current circumstances as an invitation to follow Him through something rather than as a sudden storm that came up without warning, how does that change my response?

What if the current circumstances aren’t a sudden unexpected storm, but part of the journey that started when I accepted the invitation to follow Him? What if the invitation now continues to be to follow and trust in Him? What if these are circumstances that haven’t caught God by surprise but are under his control? How will that change how I face the current events and all future events in my life? 

Someone else brought up the fact that Jesus was aware and attentive to all the different responses of the people in the boat: those trying to do something, those getting sick over the side of the boat, those clinging to Him, and all the responses in between.

So if Jesus invited me to follow Him, if He’s in the boat with me, and if He’s aware of what I’m experiencing and how I”m currently handling the situation, how does that change my response to the current storm? For me, instead of looking for the quick fix, I’m looking for the work He wants to do in me to bring peace to the hidden storms inside of me. Then I’m looking for how He might be leading me to follow Him into the storm to be peace to others, peace to those that know Him and those who don’t know Him. 

There will likely be more storms in the journey ahead. What can I learn in this one to learn how to walk through the others I will experience in the days ahead? 

Note: If you’d like to know more about Exhale click here or check out their Facebook page. I’d encourage you to check it out, Beth and Judy will encourage you.