Devotion - Wednesday, August 24

Mark 4:35-41 records the events of Jesus calming the storm at sea. He sets off, with the disciples, to cross the sea. As they are making their way, the storm arises. The text tells us "the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion."

I thought this morning of the storm. This is an appropriate image for the day we are facing. Perhaps I need to say something more about this storm. Those of us who make Clemson our home year round are very aware of how the surface has changed in these past five days. We spent our summer dodging the construction crews reworking the downtown. But the trucks and graders are nothing compared to the crush of cars and laptop carrying young adults. We saw the long line of cars on move-in day and we have seen you all in the stores, setting up your rooms and preparing for the term about to start.

Since you arrived with the storm, you may have little idea of what it was like, before it all got started. You may not realize that there is a calm, below the surface and pre-dating the crashing waves we see around us now. There is a storm brewing; not only for our little town, but also for you. What will this year bring? How will your life be changed?

What has intrigued me the most about Mark's story isn't that Jesus was able to calm the storm. What catches my attention is that even as this storm was raging, Jesus isn't anxious or concerned. In fact, he is asleep, on the cushion, in the stern of the boat.

I want to offer this as an image for our ministry. That as all the waves crash around you there is one place where a slice of tranquility exists. That while so much is happening and so many things are tossing you around, there is the opportunity to turn to Christ and have your calm restored.

Jesus does speak to the storm. He tells it that it is limited in its power. And in retelling the story Mark reminds us that we are not forever tossed to and fro by the raging waters. We can take our rest, in the stern, on the cushion.

God be with you this day; allow God to calm the storm.