Scriptures : Matthew 8:23-24
“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.”
“Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” (Mat 8:25-26)
“But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.” (Mat 14:24-25)
From the passages above, the Lord Jesus showed His glory as the Son of God in three ways :
1. He could sleep in the midst of a great tempest and waves. He is the Prince of peace.
2. He rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. He is the Ruler of nature.
3. He walked on the raging sea. He is More than a conqueror.
Can we sleep in a boat in the midst of a great tempest and the boat is covered with the waves of the sea? I think none of us can. But Jesus could. Why? Not because He is God, but because as a Man He has become the Prince of Peace. He has learned to always have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding rule in His heart. Likewise, as a son of God, everyone of us must learn to become a prince of peace. Everyone of us must learn to have the peace that surpasses understanding rule in our heart when we are in the midst of a great tempest in our lives.
The people who do not know God will only feel peaceful when the situation around them is peaceful. And they will lose their peace when the situation around them is not peaceful. But, the people who know God should know how to have peace even when the situation around them is not peaceful. How? By not focusing the mind on the situation, but on the Lord Jesus, the Prince of peace. Prophet Isaiah wrote, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isa 26:3)
When the situation around you is not peaceful but you have peace in your heart, then you have the power to change the situation around you. You do not need to change the situation around you so that you can have peace in your heart, but you may need to do it so that people around you can have peace in their hearts. Jesus rebuked the great tempest and the wave of the sea when He was in the boat, not for His own sake but for His disciples’ sake. He was in peace, but His disciples were fearful. So, He calmed the tempest and the sea for them.
Many believers try to calm the unpeaceful situation around them, but they fail. Why? Because they are not peaceful in their hearts. It is not possible to calm the situation around us if we cannot be calm in the midst of unpeaceful situation. We must have peace in our hearts first before we can bring peace to the situation around us. Jesus had been sleeping peacefully in the midst of the great tempest and wave of the sea before He calmed the tempest and the wave.
What God really wants from us as believers in Him is not just to stay calm in the midst of a great tempest or to calm great waves of the sea but to walk on a raging sea in the midst of a great tempest. Yes, we need to stay calm in the midst of unpeaceful situation around us. Yes, many times we also need to calm the unpeaceful situation around us for the sake of others. But, ultimately we need to be more than a conqueror in the midst of unpeaceful situation. We need to be able to demonstrate the glory of the supernatural realm in our lives, like Jesus walking on the water of a raging sea.
We are in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic. The first thing that we need to have in the midst of this covid-19 outbreak is peace in our hearts even though the situation around us brings fear. The next thing that we need to do is bring peace to the people around us who are fearful because of the covid-19 outbreak. But ultimately, we must be able to be with the people who are infected by covid-19 without being infected. Instead, we must be able to heal them supernaturally by the power of God.
When we can be calm in the midst of unpeaceful situation, it shows that the glory of God is in us. When we can calm the unpeaceful situation around us, it shows that the glory of God is around us. When we can do the impossible thing in the midst of unpeaceful situation, it shows that we are more than conquerors and the glory of God is full in our lives. The apostle Paul wrote, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor 3:18)