In the corona storm in a small boat.

As I write this, South Africa is in lockdown day 27 (Wednesday 22 April 2020).  We are in a fierce storm that came suddenly and unexpectedly.  Early January some may have thought the coronavirus will only affect Wuhan and maybe China.   This morning  2,557,917 people have been infected and sadly 177,688 have died.  It is a storm or a pandemic affecting the whole earth and it's people.

When I received the picture below, it reminded me of Jesus with His disciples on the sea of Galilee in a small boat during a great windstorm.

The storm seen from my friend Zev's roof:

Sea of Galilee seen from Tiberias

There are three accounts of this event in the Bible.  Mark, Matthew and Luke wrote about it.  The essence of the three accounts are the same:

• The disciples were with Jesus in the boat.
• The storm came and they were afraid they expected the end.
• The called on Jesus.
• He calmed the storm.
• Jesus rebuked the disciples for lack of faith.
• The disciples were amassed.

Let's look at the accounts and then I will conclude with a few brief remarks.

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Mark 4:35-41 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Calms a Storm

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 the wind and the sea obey him?”

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Matthew 8:23-27 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Calms a Storm

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

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Luke 8:22-25 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Calms a Storm

22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Let's now conclude with some comments on the observations of Jesus and His disciples in the storm in relation to our situation with the coronavirus.  

• The disciples were with Jesus in the boat.  Similarly Jesus is with us in the lockdown situation. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus said to his disciples "..behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 
• The storm came and they were afraid they expected the end. The coronavirus came unexpectedly and fear is rife al over the world. There are many fake messages and fear is on the increase.
• The called on Jesus.  It is often only in a crisis that we turn to God. You would expect that the disciples would immediately have called on Jesus. They however did not. We also often try and resolve issues all on our own and if we fail we turn to Him. They knew Him and that he can do wonders. They have seen his power.
• He calmed the storm.  Jesus took control and commanded the storm to cease.
   
• Jesus rebuked the disciples for lack of faith.  Jesus did not only calm the storm but turned to His disciples.  We need to learn from it.  He questioned their lack of faith.
• The disciples were amassed. Are you amassed by how the Lord is protecting you and how He is always in control?  He can calm our storms.

In conclusion let me ask a few questions.  Do you know Jesus?  Do you have him in your "boat in the storm"?   Have you called Him for help or are you blaming him for the storm?  In Acts 3:19 we read what Peter said:
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord"

“The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” ― Oswald Chambers

May God bless you and your family.

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