Notes of Faith November 21, 2025
Master of the Wind and the Waves
Habakkuk 3:8–10
Were You angry with the rivers, Lord?
Was Your wrath against the streams?
Did You rage against the sea
when You rode Your horses
and Your chariots to victory?
You uncovered Your bow,
You called for many arrows.
You split the earth with rivers;
the mountains saw You and writhed.
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared
and lifted its waves on high.
Mark 4:35-41
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"
The crowds were relentless. An endless sea of suffering humanity was tossed wave after wave upon the shore of Peter’s doorstep — the feverish, the blind, the lame, the deaf, and, as evening drew near, the hordes of the demon-possessed. Jesus worked nonstop, touching them, freeing them, healing them.
And still they came, filling the courtyard and surrounding the house. No time to rest, no time to eat until, at last, the God-man could go no further.
He held up a weary hand and motioned to His disciples to stem the flow of humanity coming through the door before rising slowly, painfully, from the stool where He had been perched for hours. A moment later, Jesus walked into the courtyard to survey the crowd.
He would have to begin again tomorrow.
Jesus glanced back at Peter’s home where He was staying and at the crowd that had no intention of leaving as long as He was present. He turned to His disciples and nodded toward the harbor.
Let us go over to the other side. — Mark 4:35
The men looked at each other warily. The other side? Was the situation that desperate?
“The other side” was local jargon for the opposite shore of the Sea of Galilee, the region of the Decapolis,* where observant Judaism* had been washed away by the tide of Hellenism. Amphitheaters and gymnasiums rose majestically next to the temples of Greek and Roman gods. It was a land where herds of pigs were raised — a practice the Jews considered abhorrent and unclean.
But Jesus began walking toward Capernaum’s promenade and the pier where the disciples’ boat was moored, so all that was left for them to do was follow. All along the way, the crowd pressed around Him, peppering Him with questions, begging for healing, and promising their allegiance.
Once they arrived at the pier, the men began to prepare to launch the boat as Jesus settled down on the floor of the vessel near the stern. James pulled a heavy length of rope loose from its mooring and began to roll it around his hand as he gazed out at the horizon where the sun was just beginning to set. He frowned and nudged John, who turned to look in the same direction.
“Not one streak of red,” James said.
“No,” John said, frowning as he watched the sun sink below the horizon in a clear, pale blue sky. “We need to hurry. Just in case.”
The other men glanced up at the sky and then at the Sea of Galilee, golden and silver in the waning light of the setting sun and the soft glory of the rising moon. It was peaceful and beautiful, but they had been on the lake all their lives, and they knew just how quickly everything could change on a clear evening when the sky was gold instead of red.
Once in the open water, the disciples unfurled the sail. It flapped and then drew taut in the breeze. The men secured their oars and sat down to rest. Jesus sat with an elbow on the low wooden bench next to Him and gazed out at the peaceful lake. As the boat rocked gently back and forth, His eyes grew heavy, and, bit by bit, they began to close. He lay down on the bench to rest His head on the cushion there. Soon He was asleep.
The other men slumped groggily against the sides of the boat, lulled by the steady breeze and the gentle rocking of the waves.
Overhead, the moon rose high, turning the water silver with its light. One by one, stars began to pierce the night sky as warm air rose from the surface of the lake and began to collide with the cool air from the hills and plains that encircled its shores.
Suddenly a fierce gust of wind rose from the east, caught the sail, and rocked the boat violently. The men shook themselves alert and scrambled for the oars as James and John began working to lower the sail and secure it to the mast. Another gust of wind ripped it from their hands. It flapped wildly as they struggled to secure it again. Overhead, dark clouds rolled and seethed, obscuring the moon and the stars. Jagged lightning ran along the undersides of the clouds, illuminating them from within. The lake, tranquil only moments before, answered the call of the gale.
Their boat rose and fell as the water surged, molding into higher and higher waves and deep valleys. Soon the men were struggling against waves as high as six feet that tossed their vessel like a toy boat.
The men strained against the oars to keep the boat from capsizing. Peter was in the front nearest the bow, manning the steering oar. He pulled against his oar, willing it not to break as another wave slammed into the side of the boat and tossed a generous amount of water up over the side. He stared incredulously as white foam splashed onto the feet of Jesus, who somehow was still sleeping!
The roar of the wind rose in its fury, as another wave, even larger than the last, crashed into the hull. This time, everyone received a lap full of water, and several inches pooled in the bottom of the boat. A flash of lightning illuminated the churning sea as it transformed into a fearsome landscape of gray mountains and dark valleys.
Peter’s heart pounded in his chest. He tore his eyes away from the scene to look down at the water, rising ever higher in the boat, and then at Jesus asleep on the floor.
“We are going down!”
Peter shoved his oar aside and lunged toward Jesus, grabbing His leg and shaking Him awake as he shouted above the din of the storm.
Teacher, don’t You care if we drown? — Mark 4:38
Grim-faced, Peter sat back down to wrestle with the steering oar once again.
Jesus sat up and rubbed His eyes with the back of His hand. He took one long look at the terrified faces in front of Him and then at the raging sky above. He placed a hand on the edge of the boat and pushed Himself to a standing position. Then He raised both arms above His head, His hands toward the heavens, and shouted,
Quiet! Be still! — Mark 4:39
Immediately the wind died down to a gentle breeze and the sea grew calm. The clouds, which had been rolling above them only moments before, retreated, and a blanket of stars and a pale moon took their place above the water. Jesus sat back down in the bottom of the boat and turned to face His disciples. They stared at Him, pale with terror.
“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?” — Mark 4:40
The men looked at the clear sky above them and then back at the water still pooled around their ankles. They gazed at the surface of the lake, smooth as glass and silvery beneath the glow of the moon, and then at their own hands still dripping with water.
Numbly, the disciples bent forward, grasped the oars, and pulled. As Peter tugged at the steering oar to point the ship toward shore, a shocked voice from somewhere in the back expressed the thoughts in every heart.
Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him! — Mark 4:41
O Master of the wind and the waves, be Lord over the storms in my heart. My faith, indeed, is small. Too often have I turned to You in my fear and asked, “O Lord, don’t You care?” And each time I’ve found You faithful. You are a good God, a caring Father. Help me to remember that I have nothing to fear because You love me and remain beside me in every circumstance. Amen.
Excerpted from The Compassionate Christ by Sherri Hughes-Gragg, copyright Sherri Hughes-Gragg.
There are circumstances and events in our lives over which we have no control. But they are under the control of Almighty God. Some days start out bright and clear and then turn dark and dangerous. May we trust the God of peace and calm to care for us and provide us with greater faith that we might not fear the storms and waves in our lives.
Pastor Dale