Where the Wind Blows

Officially the wind is blowing today at 32 to 40 miles an hour. When the gusts hit the side of the house and you literally feel it shaking, it reminds you that 40 miles per hour is no small amount. The drop in temperature (with the wind chill factor) makes me glad that I am comfortably resting at home this afternoon. Inside where there is no wind....

Occasionally I see leaves and branches tumble past the house, torn from nearby trees by the power of the wind. A plastic bag, seemingly freed from gravity's clutches, soars skyward, bouncing off the electric lines on its way to who knows where. Dust, kicked up by a passing car, clouds the view momentarily, then is scattered by another gust of the never-ending wind.

Where I live, winds like this are rare. Light breezes usually send the trees into a rhythmic dance, creating a pleasing atmosphere and ambiance that soothes the mind. The wind we experience tends to caress the flowers and massage the beasts in the field. It can best be described as "gentle."

But it is the same wind. One day it can bring a peaceful breeze, the next a tornado. At one time it creates a calm, while another time it blows uneasiness into our hearts.

Jesus told His disciples, "Let's go to the other side of the lake." So they boarded several little boats and headed across Galilee. These experienced fishermen knew what they were doing; they had spent many days on this lake, and were familiar with the nature of the wind. But they weren't prepared for a storm like the one that hit them. Mark 4:37 says "...a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling."

The disciples - men used to struggling against the elements - were terrified at the certainty of their destruction. They found Jesus asleep in the stern of the boat and shook Him awake. "Don't You care," they yelled, "that we are perishing?"

We all remember the story, how Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And we remember how the disciples marveled that this Man could speak and the winds would obey Him.

But Jesus had something else to say to His disciples, something that has significance for us living in the times that we live. Mark 4:40 records that Jesus turned to them and asked, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"

This past week we have felt the winds blow around the world. The very things that we have relied on, the foundations of our daily lives, have been shaken to their very cores. Lives have been radically changed, and the fear that comes with imminent destruction has gripped many hearts. Some have cried out to God, saying, "Don't You care that we are perishing?"

Jesus' message to us is the same one that He spoke to those frightened fishermen. We know, from reading His Word, that the last days will be tumultuous ones. But these are not times that we will endure alone. There is Someone who is riding along with us, Someone encouraging us to have faith - to hold on just a little longer. Someone who has the ability to bring this ship safely to the other shore.

It looks like the wind has already calmed down a little....