5th February 2025
Who’s in charge here?
[The disciples] were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’
Mark 4:41 (NIVUK)
When I was a manager in a local Benefit Agency office, claimants would call into the office to discuss their case with the counter clerk. If they were unhappy with the information given, they would often say ‘I want to see the person who is in charge’ and I would have to go and see them with the aim of resolving the problem or getting them to understand why the information they were given is correct.
Recently I was on the other side of this type of scenario. I contacted my broadband provider on three separate occasions only to be told that my issue was being dealt with and should be resolved in a couple of days. On the fourth time of contact, I asked to be put through to the manager in charge of the call centre so that they could expedite matters for me. When something doesn’t quite go as planned, we want to know ‘who’s in charge here’?
This reminds me of the situation Mark describes in the fourth chapter of his gospel. The Sea of Galilee is 680 feet below sea level and surrounded by hills. Winds blowing across the land intensify close to the sea, often causing violent and unexpected storms. The disciples were seasoned fishermen but during this squall, they panicked; things weren’t going as expected. Where’s ‘The Teacher’ (v.38), the person who’s supposed to be in charge? Is he grabbing the mast; is he at the helm, trying to navigate through the storm? No, Mark records that ‘Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion…’. The disciples’ response is understandable: “ [They] woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ ” (v. 38).
What happened next was incredible: “ [Jesus] got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” (v.39). This immediately led to the most important question anyone can ever ask: ‘Who is this?’ (v.41).
Jesus’s action of stilling the wind and the waves demonstrated who he was, for as Psalm 107:29 shows, it is the Lord God who ‘stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.’
The Christian life may have more stormy weather than calm seas. On those occasions, it is vital that we know who is in charge, and who will bring us safely through to our ‘desired haven’ (Psalm 107:30). We may think that Jesus is asleep and doesn’t care about our circumstances when we are going through a storm, but let’s have the faith to believe that when Jesus is in our boat he is still in charge and has everything under control. Thankfully Jesus is in charge not only of the winds and the waves but of our entire lives and will see us safely home (Philippians 1:6).
As I write this study storm Eowyn is brewing, dubbed the worst storm of the century; now wait a minute, who’s in charge around here…?
Prayer
Loving Father, we are so thankful that your Son Jesus is in charge of every situation that we face. Help us to stay close to him through the storms of life and to trust you with whatever this day holds. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church