Jesus was tired. He had taught large crowds of people who were gathered at the Sea of Galilee—crowds so large, in fact, that he taught from a boat to keep from being crushed.

When evening came, He said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they left the crowd behind and took him, just as He was in the boat, and began to cross the water. Jesus was so tired that He put His head on a cushion and went to sleep.

Very quickly a strong squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus slept on. Finally, the disciples woke him. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” they asked. Immediately Jesus stood up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm (Mark 4:35-39).

To me the remarkable truth from this story is not merely that the storm obeyed the command of Jesus. That is, of course, amazing! But the thought that comforts me is that although the howling of the wind and the splash of the waves didn’t waken Jesus, the cry of the men in trouble did.

Like a mother who at night can tune out the din of traffic on the street outside but waken at the slightest whimper of her baby, the Lord responds to the needs and fears and cries of His child.

Isn’t that comforting? The Psalmist said, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them” (Psalm 34:17). Yes, the God of Heaven hears when you call. Though there may be a billion people in the world calling to him at the same time in 6800 languages, don’t worry. God invented multi-tasking. He hears. And He responds.

If the storm in your life is about to swamp your boat, call to the One who said to the wind and waves, “Quiet! Be still.”

 

What “storm” are you presently calling God for?