Creation Obeys the Word of God

The underpinning of what we call science today is the simple idea that all of creation follows laws that were made by God.  God is not an author of confusion.  He does things in an ordered, well thought out, and logical way.  Thus it is He who sets the boundaries for the interactions of all things.

Though scientific discoveries have been made throughout history, the Christian ideas concerning God is what enabled a methodical search to understand the laws of nature to really take off.  Yet, not all of creation is the same.  Dirt, rocks, wind, storms, and solar flares are not sentient and have no choice of obeying God’s laws.  They simply follow the physical Laws God has created.  Animals have some form of thinking.  However, observation clearly shows that there is a clear difference between their thinking and man’s.  Animals operate on an instinctual level and on a base physical desire.  If they are hungry they eat what is available.  Man is the one creature that can make choices that are contrary to its nature.  We can analyze the past and project into the future and thereby act contrary to what our emotion and flesh tells us.  We can calculate the “oughtness” of an action and choose a path different from what we desire.

Today we are going to look at Luke 8:22-25.  Although this section may seem to be separate from what is going on before it, I think there is something deeper going on here.  Up to this point Jesus has been focusing on a theme which says, those who do God’s Word belong to Him and will be blessed.  So in this section the common tie is to see that in this arena most of creation does a better job than mankind.

When It Seems Like God Is Sleeping

Jesus often ministered to the point of exhaustion.  So in this story He tells the disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee and catches some sleep.  It is during this time that the disciples are piloting the boat and Jesus is sleeping that a strong storm comes upon them.  Now I don’t believe this storm is by accident.  Yet, Jesus is sleeping through it.  In this sense Jesus represents the righteous man who has perfect peace about his situation.  Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon You, because he trusts in You.”  As a righteous man, Jesus can sleep and not fear that a storm is going to destroy him before his time.

However, as God, Jesus appears to not care about their problem.  It is common for people to feel that God is not caring about their problem or that somehow he is asleep at the wheel.  Now, this storm is clearly a freak “perfect storm” because 4 of these disciples are seasoned fisherman and can handle a boat.  Yet, this time they are afraid that they are going to die.  They can’t keep up with bailing the water out of the boats and are in danger of sinking.  Is this a coincidence or is something else going on here?  God could have sent a perfect storm in order to allow Jesus to demonstrate that he is more than a man.  Or, the storm could be caused by Satan.  If you haven’t thought about this before then take time to remember the account of Job.  In Job we see Satan attacking his animals and family by causing fire to fall from heaven and burn up his servants and sheep.  He also caused a huge wind to destroy a house inside of which Job’s adult children were feasting.  It killed them all.  This is mentioned again in Revelation 13 when the False Prophet causes fire to come down from heaven in the sight of men in order to convince them to believe him.  Whether we know the source of difficult times or not doesn’t really matter.  In fact sometimes I might simply be encountering the results of my own poor choices.  Either way, we may feel like God is silent to our problem.

In our story things changed when they cried out to Jesus.  Jesus wasn’t a sailor.  They were the ones with the skills in this area.  This was one area where they were the experts and Jesus was the one in need.  Yet, after exhausting their own efforts and being at the end of their strength, they finally turn to Jesus and cry out for help.  They don’t expect him to start bailing.  Rather, they are turning to him as the one who has a connection to God that is miraculous.  Notice that this is the Gospel in a nutshell.  In some ways, God is reminding the disciples that no matter how hard they struggle against sin and the flesh, they are going to need God’s help.  None of us can be good enough in ourselves to overcome the storms of life.  We need to learn to cry out upon God for help, even when it seems like He is sleeping.

Jesus Has Power Over Nature

The next point is perhaps the most obvious.  Jesus has power over nature.  Now, all of creation came into being at the Word of the Lord.  In John 1:3, the disciple describes that this is Jesus.  “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”  Thus, creation follows the laws of nature, or physics, that given to it at the beginning.  This is a general obedience that all creation has.  It was God’s design of atmosphere and temperature differences that gives rise to wind, weather, and even perfect storms.  Yet, there is also a specific obedience that happens here.  At the specific command of Christ, in a specific point in time, at a specific location, the storm stops immediately.  “Peace, be still!”  Those famous words actually come from the gospel of Mark, who gives us greater detail on what is said.  Now wind doesn’t have a will of its own in order to go or stop.  It is a force of nature’s own physics.  Thus the miracle is far greater than it appears, as if the storm could stop itself.  The truth is that all of the factors that came together to create such a perfect storm are being perfectly cancelled out by an opposite and perfectly balanced force at Christ’s command.  Thus God didn’t just cause weather in general by the design of the earth.  But has the power, if He so chooses, to specifically control weather if He wants to.  This shouldn’t surprise us since humans have been trying to manipulate weather over the last century, with various levels of success. 

This brings up several questions.  How can this happen, or, how is this possible?  The freak storm came to a freak ending.  They go from being freaked out about dying to being freaked out about what Jesus just did.  That also brings up the next question.  Who is this man?  No mere man can do what Jesus just did. 

His command over nature is often called a miracle.  However, the word “miracle,” to most people, has come to mean that the laws of nature are broken.  Yet, when you study into the “miracles” in the Bible, they seem less to be about broken natural laws and more about the power of the One who is intervening.  God can control His creation because He created it.  When you think about it, if God could create all of the universe and put it in motion, could He not operate within it?  Wouldn’t He be far greater than us in doing something that He wants through His understanding of natural laws?   Now what about mankind, should God control us in such a way?  Would we really want that?  Would that really be good?  Instead of commanding men along with controlling force, God gives man his command with the freedom to obey.  We can choose.

We Need Faith In God

When the storm is calmed Jesus speaks to the situation.  He asks, “Where is your faith?”  I don’t believe Jesus is chiding them for waking him up.  The emphasis is on their trust.  Jesus is the one who said to cross the lake.  He is the one leading them.  Don’t you trust me?  Many times following Jesus does not seem to be working out so well.  We encounter storms, which we struggle against as best we can.  They often bring us to the end of our physical, emotional, and spiritual resources.  Yet, Romans 8:28 says, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Our prayers need not be as desperate as our situation if we are following God.   If Jesus is in our boat we need not fear.  Those who have put their faith in Jesus and are following His words belong to Him.  He is in them and they are in Him.  This is a relationship that cannot be severed by any storm that this earth has to offer.  If Jesus is in the boat we need not wake him with the words, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” [according to Mark]  Yes, he cares.  They don’t know it yet.  But, his caring goes so deep that he will hang on a cross for them to show it.  The beauty is that even when we are desperate and failing in our faith, He will still help those who are following Him.  We need to trust God.  But trusting God involves calling out to Him for help in our time of need.  And, at the same time, we can know that He will work all things to the good for us.  If Jesus would be willing to go through the cross for you, do you think He is going to fail you? 

This brings up the question of what I will call “The Martyr’s Storm.”  Jesus had a perfect relationship with God the Father and yet, on the night he is betrayed he goes through a storm that would claim his life the next day.  However, even here He knew that God would work it all to the good.  In fact, if Jesus had not died we could not be saved from our own sin.  No one understands the why and when behind the call to give the ultimate sacrifice to be a witness for God.  Yet, even this storm, ends when the martyr enters into God’s presence.

Thus Jesus brings up the issue of fear.  Fear undermines our faith and drives us to unbelieving actions.  We feel that we are losing and that God has failed us.  If left unchecked it will cause us to leave Christ at the very moment that we need Him most.  Somewhere Judas let fear of where Jesus was leading divert his course.  Thought they traveled together, somewhere their paths diverged and the two never came together again.  Don’t let this be you today.  No matter what storms have come in the past or you are experiencing today, God has a plan that you can trust.  As the Scriptures say, “Trust in the Lord forever, for in the LORD is everlasting strength!”  Trust God even if it requires you to lay your life down because He has your greatest good in mind.