Facing the Storm, Jesus is Victor!
“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:37-39 KJV)
In the archives of British admiralty at Whitehall , London , England is the record of one of the finest examples of maritime strategy and courage. The ships of five nations were anchored in a bay in the South Pacific. A fierce storm was gathering off shore. It was reaching hurricane proportions. There was much discussion among the ship captains to the best course of action.
The British captain decided to run not away from the storm, but into it. Everything available was tied down. Out crashed the ship into the boiling seas, pitching, tossing, rolling, and shuddering. She did everything but capsize and go down. The struggle was intense.
A couple of days later, buffeted, battered, but not broken, and without the loss of a single life, she returned to port to find the wreckage of the ships of other nations piled in heaps on the beaches.
The storm of the ages is breaking, but the Lord Jesus Christ, the Master of every storm, the Victor in every circumstance, is still at the helm flying the bloodstained banner of the cross. So, though tribulation billows roll and Antichrist winds blow and all hell rages, there is still but one answer for us. In faith, follow our Captain right on into the storm…Jesus is Victor! His grace is sufficient! He will not fail us!
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Prior to 4:37 Jesus explains why he speaks in parables, which I think is relevant to this quotation because his disciples failed, in this case, to have faith:
“And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”
Mark 4:40
They even ask, in their confusion, what about Jesus makes him so powerful:
“And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:41
If his closest disciples failed, how much more likely are we?