Stillness In The Stormy Night
The number of those who ate was about five
thousand men, besides women and children. Immediately Jesus made
the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the
other side, while He dismissed the crowd. After He had dismissed
them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray.
When evening came, He was there alone, but the
boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by
the waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth
watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were
terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage!
It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's You," Peter replied,
"tell me to come to You on the water." "Come," He said. Then
Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came
toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and,
beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught
him. "You of little faith," He said, "why did you doubt?" And
when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those
who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the
Son of God." When they had crossed over, they landed at
Gennesaret. (Matthew 14:21-34)
The Biblical
understanding of stillness is very different from that of the world.
The world assumes that stillness is achieved when everything is
peaceful and calm, and when there is no trace of danger or calamity.
But it is almost the direct opposite in the Bible.
The phrase "Be
still, and know that I am God" is found in Psalm 46:10. This
glorious psalm depicts that in the midst of deep troubles, the
people of God are safe in Him. Against the contrasting backgrounds
of landslides, earthquakes, mountains crumbling into the sea,
roaring and foaming oceans, trembling mountains, nations in turmoil,
the melting earth and the raging wars, the psalmist painted a river
of joy flowing from the city of our God. God is still in full
control. He is in the midst of all the trials and tribulations!
He is our refuge
and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. His city
stands unmoved despite all the turmoil everywhere. He will not delay
to help us. He will come to rescue us. We need not fear. We only
need to be still and know that He is God! We will see the glorious
things that our God will bring to pass. He will cause even the wars
to cease throughout the earth, breaking and burning every
destructive weapon.
In Matthew
14:21-34, there is a very interesting story about Jesus and His
disciples. After feeding the multitudes, Jesus told His disciples to
get into their boat and cross to the other side of the lake while He
stayed to bid the people goodbye.
In the Bible,
this lake has four different names:
- The Sea of
Galilee (Matt. 4:18; Mark 1:16).
- The Sea of
Chinnereth or Chinneroth. It means "harp-shaped," which is the
general outline of the lake (Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3).
- The Lake of
Gennesaret (Luke 5:1). It takes the name from the fertile Plain
of Gennesaret that lies on the northwest (Matt. 14:34).
- The Sea of
Tiberias (John 6:1; 21:1). This may be associated with the
capital of Herod Antipas.
The Sea of
Galilee is situated about 98 kilometres (60 miles) north of
Jerusalem. Its fresh waters are fed by the cool Jordan River. The
lake is the deepest part of the northern Jordan Rift. Water is being
collected there before the Jordan continues its flow southwards into
the Dead Sea. The surface of the Sea of Galilee is about 230 metres
(700 feet) below the Mediterranean Sea. The floor of the lake is
another 25 to 50 metres (80 to 160 feet) lower. The lake itself is
nearly 21 kilometres (13 miles) long and 13 kilometres (8 miles)
wide at Magdala, the point of its greatest width.
The lake is
surrounded, except on the southern side, by steep cliffs and sharply
rising mountains. On the east, these mountains rise to the Golan
Heights and the fertile Hauran Plateau. They can be as high as 900
metres (2,700 feet). As a result of this geographical formation,
cool winds frequently rush down these lofty slopes. This will in
turn stir up strong winds and waves on the normally calm and warm
surface of the lake - unexpectedly. These sudden weather changes can
produce a great tempest in just a short time (Matt. 8:24).
Just like any
other seas, the Sea of Galilee was to be feared even though it might
look perfectly beautiful and still. Because of the violent storms
and dangers, many Biblical writers often described a sea as an
abyss, a fearsome place of darkness and chaos. The unpredictability
and ferocity of the seas had scared the ancient people in the Middle
East so much that they would try to avoid large bodies of waters.
Many of their folk tales even depicted the sea as a monstrous beast,
and a place where the gods waged wars with one another.
The Hebrews were
a land-loving people who distrusted any large body of waters such as
the Mediterranean Sea. To them, the sea was a perilous and
forbidding place, full of terrors and dangers. Few could swim, and
even the most experienced fisherman avoided the deep waters. The sea
therefore became a symbol of the seething nations of the world, the
troubled lives of the unrighteous, chaos and hell (Dan. 7:2-3; Matt.
13:47; Rev. 13:1). Perhaps this is why the apostle John spoke of the
glorious new heaven and new earth as a place in which there was
no more sea (Rev. 21:1).
While His
disciples feared the winds and waves, Jesus did not. He always
stopped the violent winds and calmed the stormy seas. He had full
power and authority over all nature. Our Lord is greater than any
evil in the seas.
Unlike
other trips when Jesus went with them in the boat such as in Mark
4:36-41, this trip was slightly different. They were alone in the
boat that night without Jesus. After Jesus had dismissed the
multitudes, He went up to the mountainside to pray. What was the
prayer of Jesus then?
When
night fell, the disciples' boat was already a considerable distance
from the land. In the midst of darkness and out on the lake, the
disciples began to encounter some problems. When the winds had
risen, the waves began to roar, beating against the boat violently.
They tried to be calm and be still, but they just couldn’t. Some of
them were professional and seasoned fishermen. But all of them were
shaken to their bones. Jesus knew what had happened to them. He was
praying and interceding for them that they would not fear but
overcome. He allowed them to go through those initial struggles. He
waited until the fourth watch of the night, about four o'clock in
the morning, before coming to their rescue. It was probably six or
eight hours after the disciples had left Him.
And Jesus did
the most amazing thing – He came to them, walking on the water! When
they saw Him, they screamed in terror. They thought that Jesus was a
ghost coming up from the abyss of the sea. But Jesus immediately
spoke to them, reassuring them by saying "Take courage. It’s Me.
Don't be afraid!" While others were doubting whether it was truly
the Lord, Peter called out to Jesus, "Lord, if it is really You,
please tell me to come over to You, walking on the water."
"All right," the
Lord said, "come along!" So Peter went over the side of the boat and
walked on the water towards Jesus. Peter demonstrated incredible
courage and faith that stormy night out in the sea. Unlike the other
disciples, he recognized the voice of the Lord. He took a great risk
by stepping out of the boat onto the raging sea. He had overcome his
fear. He was the only disciple who walked on water. But his courage
didn’t last long. When Peter began to look around at the violent
waves and winds, he was terrified and he began to sink. "Save me,
Lord!" he screamed.
Immediately
Jesus reached out His hand and rescued him. "O man of little faith,"
Jesus said, "Why did you doubt me?" Jesus didn’t admonish Peter for
trying to walk on the water. He also didn’t rebuke him for fearing
the winds and waves. He simply wanted to affirm Peter’s faith in Him
by asking, "Why did you doubt Me?"
When Jesus and
Peter had climbed back into the boat, the winds and the waves
stopped. All the disciples, sitting there in the boat, were
awestruck. "You really are the Son of God!" they exclaimed. All of
them finally crossed the sea and landed at Gennesaret.
Like the
disciples of Jesus, we too have storms in our lives that suddenly
come crashing and crushing on us. Terrorist attacks, 9/11, SARS,
wars, COVID-19, earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, hurricanes, Aids, bird flu, highway and building collapses,
political and social unrest, and issues relating to job security, family safety, education,
health, finance, natural and unnatural disasters or deaths,
tragedies, etc. etc. have crippled and
paralyzed many lives. Faced with overwhelming despair, sadness,
anger and fear, we are constantly wrestling with hopelessness and
helplessness.
Our Lord
Jesus understands what we are going through. He too came into a
world that had political and social instability. The forces of evil
and darkness were also overwhelmingly working against Him during His
days. Like a good athlete instructor, our Lord allows us to struggle
on our own for a time and a season. He is able to save us, and He is
always interceding for us (Heb. 7:25). He desires to build up the
muscles of our faith so that we are able to trust Him and obey Him
in everything! Instead of rescuing us right away, He allows us to
wrestle with our storms in life. It is in the struggling process
that we learn the most significant and precious lessons of faith,
trust and courage.
It is important
to have an end in any journey but the important thing is the journey
itself in the end. The true treasures are the lessons of love, faith
and hope that we have learnt along the way. When we face trials and
tribulations, we are never alone. He is in the middle of our pains
and fears. He desires us to be overcomers and victors. But even when
we do not, our Lord still hears our cries and He will come to our
rescue eventually. Somehow we will cross over to the other side
safely.
One day, we will
be able to walk on waters in the midst of our darkness and storms!
Like our Lord Jesus, we will not fall down into the waters or bow
down to our fears! We will overcome our own fears and will rise up
victorious! If we truly trust Him and follow His
instructions, we will be able to do amazing things! We can either
walk on waters like Peter or part the waters like Moses!
And
Jesus said:
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may
have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
Source:
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary