Peace In The Midst Of Panic

Mark 4:35-41

An artist was commissioned by a wealthy man to paint something that would depict peace. After a great deal of thought, the artist painted a beautiful country scene. There were green fields with cows standing in them, birds were flying in the blue sky and a lovely little village lay in a distant valley. The artist gave the picture to the man, but there was a look of disappointment on his face. The man said to the artist, "This isn’t a picture of true peace. It isn’t right. Go back and try again.

The artist went back to his studio, thought for several hours about peace, then went to his canvas and began to paint. When he was finished, there on the canvas was a beautiful picture of a mother, holding a sleeping baby in her arms, smiling lovingly at the child.

He thought, surely, this is true peace, and hurried to give the picture to the wealthy man. But again, the wealthy man refused the painting and asked the painter to try again.

The artist returned again to his studio. He was discouraged, he was tired and he was disappointed. Anger swelled inside him, he felt the rejection of this wealthy man. Again, he thought, he even prayed for inspiration to paint a picture of true peace. Then, all of a sudden an idea came, he rushed to the canvas and began to paint as he had never painted before. When he finished, he hurried to the wealthy man.

He gave the painting to the man. He studied it carefully for several minutes. The artist held his breath. Then the wealthy man said, "Now this is a picture of true peace." He accepted the painting, paid the artist and everyone was happy.

And what was this picture of true peace?? The picture showed a stormy sea pounding against a cliff. The artist had captured the furry of the wind as it whipped black rain clouds which were laced with streaks of lightening. The sea was roaring in turmoil, waves churning, the dark sky filled with the power of the furious thunderstorm.

And in the middle of the picture, under a cliff, the artist had painted a small bird, safe and dry in her nest snuggled safely in the rocks. The bird was at peace midst the storm that raged about her. (Author Unknown).

Mark 4:35-41 (KJV) 35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

INTRODUCTION:

One of the best known stories in the Gospels is that of Jesus’ calming the storm on the lake. Just from a simple reading of the few verses we would rightly conclude that the account demonstrates Jesus’ authority over the elements of nature, and, the disciples weak faith for being afraid. The story comes in a series of reports about Jesus’ authority in various areas—sickness, demons, death, and sin. It provides another significant part to the portrayal of the King: He is not just a king over the people of Israel; rather, He is king over all nature as well.

I. ESSENTIALS TO PEACE IN THE MIDST OF PANIC

Notice the first thing the disciples did in their time of panic. They didn’t immediately turn to Jesus! They should have, but they didn’t. They were exhausting all their efforts as seamen and fishermen until the boat was near full of water. Then, they turned to Jesus.

We often seek to fix the situation ourselves in our power and in our ability which fails us.

In our modern world, we often hear this familiar call to action: "Don't just stand there—do something!" However there are times when we can’t do anything but wait. And there are times when this thought of “Just Do Something” is an inherent danger when we try to force this way of thinking into our spiritual life.