No doubt you’ve heard the expression, “The calm before the storm.”
The literal meaning of this comes from talking about the weather. They say that before a big storm, there’s often a short period of time when the weather is really calm and quiet.
But we also use this expression for other things, whenever there’s a period of quiet and calm right before a period of busy or noisy activity or excitement. A kindergarten teacher might refer to the quiet time before her energetic and noisy students arrive as “the calm before the storm.” A busy restaurant chef or server might refer to the peaceful moments before lunch time as “the calm before the storm.”
But have you ever heard the expression “the calm during the storm?”
Our latest manga, “the Storm,” is based on a story from the Bible (Mark 4:35-41) in which the disciples and Jesus had two very different reactions to the storm they found themselves in.
The disciples were really scared. They were freaking out!
Meanwhile, Jesus was taking a nap. He was sleeping!
He just wasn’t worried. He wasn’t scared. He knew they were going to be alright, so He had enough peace inside to sleep through the storm. He had a “calm during the storm.”
So after the disciples woke Him, Jesus got up and calmed the storm. The disciples, of course, were amazed. And if Jesus is in our “boat” — our life — then when we pray, He can do amazing things for us as well.
But maybe that’s actually not the main point of this story. Did you notice what Jesus said to the disciples?
“Why are you afraid? Where’s your faith?”
Was Jesus just cranky because they interrupted His nap? Or was He trying to teach them something? Why did He say this?
When disciples woke Jesus up, what did they say?
“Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
It was natural that the disciples should be afraid. But where they went wrong was in questioning Jesus’ heart. They doubted if He cared.
After all the time they’d spent with Jesus, hearing Him teach and seeing Him perform miracles, they still got scared. They still lacked faith.
What Jesus is telling them is that they should have trusted Him. They didn’t need to worry. Even if He hadn’t calmed the storm, they would have been OK.
During our lives we all go through storms. They take many different forms: illness, stress, financial troubles, relationship problems, the death of a loved one, fear and uncertainty about the future…
And the Bible does NOT promise that any of us will be spared those kinds of storms. But the Bible does promise that we don’t have to go through them alone.
One writer (John Ortberg) said it this way:
“Peace doesn’t come from finding a lake with no storms.
It comes from having Jesus in the boat.”
Jesus can make a difference in your life, if you let Him. Let Jesus into your “boat” (your life) and you can enjoy His peace – “the calm during the storm.”
