We know from the other Gospels that it was at the word of Jesus that the disciples set out to cross the sea toward Capernaum. This must have made the storm that encountered all the more discouraging. Would they have blamed Jesus for failing to foresee it? Or, if they didn't expect that he could foresee it, would they have been discouraged that even the commands of Jesus could be compromised by unforeseen circumstances in the same way as any other plans? Either way, the danger they faced was obvious. And Jesus did not seem like a likely candidate to help, since it was because of him that they were out there.
The disciples were like those men in Psalm 107 who "went down to the sea in ships" (see Psalm 107:23-30) and experienced "the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea", the raw, unconquerable power of God expressed in nature. The disciples themselves no doubt "reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end". But Jesus himself came to them, walking on the waves, as only the Lord himself could do. So the disciples responded as like the men in the psalm:
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
At first they were terrified because that was the normal human response to the revelation of divinity. It was another form of what Peter experienced when he said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (see Luke 5:8). The power and unpredictability of divinity was greater than any storm. Indeed, the existence of a storm was only possible because God allowed it. Thus the disciples were uncertain that they were any safer in the immediate presence of the Lord than they were in the storm. That is, they were uncertain until he spoke, saying "It is I. Do not be afraid". His greeting cast out the fear from their hearts, and his presence stilled the wind and the waves around them. He was not, finally a God of confusion or of chaos but of peace (see First Corinthians 14:33). Yet he was not a force that could be tamed. They wanted to take him into the boat with them, to themselves manipulate the forces of divinity for their own purposes. No doubt they thought they wouldn't have to worry about the weather if he was with them. But this proved both impossible and unnecessary. Somehow it was as though the space between them and their destination was shortened such that "the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading". This was just as the psalm described:
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
When it comes to the signs of Jesus we tend to prefer those like the multiplication of the loaves which satisfy our human needs and desires. But signs like the calming of the storm at the sea do more to reveal the identity of Jesus to us than could any miracle involving satiating our appetites. We would prefer it if we could come to fully realize the reality of the divinity of Jesus without having to experience it from within storms of trials and difficult circumstances. We like to imagine that we would believe it if he simply used his power to keep us always and everywhere safe from such distress. But the fact of the matter is that he permitted and indeed caused his disciples to experience that storm for the precise purpose of revealing that he was a power greater than the wind and the waves, greater even than the chaos of the tohu wa-bohu of the creation narrative in Genesis. It was only from that perspective that they could truly understand that they were in fact dealing with one who was above all of the forces of the creation, that those forces themselves obeyed him.
From our own trials we are meant to learn both that God is beyond are control but also that he is good and on our side. He does not often lead us by the paths we would probably choose for ourselves. But he does always, if allow him, lead us to the haven we desire.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
Vineyard Worship - I Stand In Awe
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