“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 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?’ 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. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 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?’”
Mark 4:37-41
There are so many questions as a massive storm bears down on our city, but the disciples asked the right question: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
We may never know why God allows natural disasters like Hurricane Milton to devastate areas already so impacted by Hurricane Ian two years ago and again by Helene two weeks ago. But there are truths we do know that can give us peace in the midst of this storm, and whatever other storms we are called to endure.
When Jesus calmed the storm and the disciples wondered what it meant for His true identity, their thoughts would have gone to Psalm 107.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.”
Psalm 107:1-3
This is a Psalm of thanksgiving and praise, calling the redeemed people of God who have been rescued from all of our troubles, to worship and honor our God of unfailing love and faithfulness. It presents four kinds of people with different kinds of problems.
(1) Desperate Wanderers
“Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.”
Psalm 1074-5
(2) Depressed Prisoners
“Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.”
Psalm 107:10-11
(3) Dying Sinners
“Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.”
Psalm 107:17-18
(4) Distraught Sailors
“Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.”
Psalm 107:23-24
All four kinds of people came to a moment of crisis and all four saw their circumstances transformed when they prayed.
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28
Fourfold, verbatim repetition is no accident in Scripture. This is God’s deliberate highlighting of the power of prayer to turn any situation around. Remember, these were not faithful Law-keeping Jews or even devout God-fearing Gentiles. These were homeless wanderers, helpless prisoners, rebellious fools and worldly traders. In each situation it took severe hardship, pain and fear to get their attention. But finally, they turned to the Lord.
“In desperation, I turned to heaven, and spoke your name into the night.” (Phil Wickham, Living Hope)
Read the full passage for the fourth and final kind of person.
“Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. 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. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.”
Psalm 107:23-32
Who was it who “made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea” to hush?
None other than “the LORD,” the Almighty, faithful, covenant-keeping God of Israel – the God of transformation.
“He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in…”
Psalm 107:33-36
The disciples on the Sea of Galilee that day were putting the pieces together. That’s why they wondered to each other, “Who is this?” Only God Himself could command a storm to be still, for only God could raise such a mighty storm in the first place.
Natural disasters like this one remind us of the greatness of God and the smallness of man. They remind us of the brevity of life and the sobering reality of eternity. So use Psalm 107 to pray for your neighbors as the rain falls and the winds blow. Pray that the fear of God would descend on our region leading people to cry out to the Lord for salvation. And pray that the love of God would awaken and mobilize His people to love and serve as many as we can in the aftermath of what is coming. Those are the twin prayers that conclude Psalm 107:
“Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.”
Psalm 107:43