||Rhema for the Week||
“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’” — Mark 4:35 (NKJV)
Back in college, I learned in Literature that every story has a plot structure: exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. What sets stories apart is the ending. A tragedy ends in catastrophe, while a comedy ends in denouement, a resolution of hope. Interestingly, the characters do not name the story; that belongs to the director.
In Mark 4:35–41, Jesus is both Savior and Director of life’s script. He declared, “Let us go over to the other side.” That was the destination. But then came the storm, the rising action. For the disciples, it felt like catastrophe. Yet at the climax, Jesus arose and commanded, “Quiet! Be still!” Immediately the winds and waves obeyed, and the story moved toward resolution. The calm came not because the disciples managed the storm, but because the Director rewrote the scene with His word.
In our lives too, storms, common to both believer and unbeliever (Matthew 7:24–27), take many forms: financial pressures, academic struggles, broken relationships, or spiritual battles. These intensify the plot but are never meant to close the story.
As we reflect on this story, three lessons stand out:
- Storms do not mean Jesus has abandoned you (Isaiah 43:2). “Let us cross over to the other side” was His idea (Mark 4:35).
- Jesus is Lord over the storm. His rest was not ignorance but a symbol of authority (Mark 4:38).
- Storms are moments of revelation. What manner of man is this, that even the winds and waves obey Him? (Mark 4:41).
This week, remember: storms do not author your destiny. Christ does. To the believer, Jesus asks: Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? To the unbeliever, Jesus warns: without Him in your boat, storms end not in hope, but in catastrophe.
Further Reading: Isaiah 43:2; Psalm 46:10; Matthew 7:24–27, 11:28; John 14:27; Acts 4:12; Phil 1:6, 4:6–7
Leave a comment