Smooth Sailing
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?” Mark 4:35-41 (New International Version, NIV)
Wouldn’t it be nice if everything went smoothly and we had no obtacles or problems? Wouldn’t it be lovely if our days went exactly as planned and we had no opposition to deal with? Rarely in this life does that happen. Even Jesus dealt with things that came against Him. As we see in the passage above, Jesus had His fair share of storms.
Storms come to stop us from doing what God intends for us to do. In this case, Jesus was headed over to the region of the Gadarenes to deliver a man who was demon-possessed. Do you think the devil wanted that man to be freed? Of course not. He never likes to lose ground. And that man was terrorizing that entire area, so it affected everyone around him. Jesus was bringing liberty to not just a man, but a territory. The enemy was trying his best to prevent that from happening.
Although it would be great for everything in life to be smooth sailing, the enemy does not want us to gain any ground. He does not want us to bring deliverance to anyone, to spread the Gospel to the lost, or in any way bring glory to God. So, he brings storms.
We must see storms in life for what they are- minor inconveniences on the way to our destiny. Jesus had already declared that they were going to the other side. He had faith in the words He had spoken, so He was getting some rest as they traveled. He knew that because He had spoken it in faith, then they were going to the other side- no matter what. The disciples, on the other hand, were a different story. In fear, they awoke Jesus, and, out of compassion for them, He calmed the sea by once again using His words. I personally believe they would have made it to the other side even if they had let Him continue to sleep. After all, He had already spoken forth that they were going to the other side- no further exercise of authority would have been needed. But, their lack of faith in the words Jesus had spoken opened the door to fear. The calming of the waves was really for the calming of those traveling with Him.
Yes, smooth sailing would be great, but storms do arise. They come to stop us, delay us, or to get us off-course. Consistently decree what God has told you is going to happen. Speak forth the destination as if you are already there, and you will get to the other side- regardless of the waves.
