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What the Bible says about "Peace, be still!"
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Matthew 8:26

As the Son of God and with only the power of His word, Christ speaks, and the wind ceases. After the fierce storm relents, a great calm descends. This miracle over the environment contrasts the disharmony, disorder, and confusion of nature against the power, order, and peace of the Creator (Psalm 89:9).

Christ treats this storm and the sea as if they were antagonistic and rebelling forces under a dominating, unrestrained power, but His word is sufficient to calm them, just as it commands demons to leave those who are possessed. Conflicts and rebellions have their source in Satan, the author of confusion in both the physical and spiritual worlds. Physical evils in nature and among mankind are among Satan's works that Jesus came to overcome and destroy.

When Jesus speaks to calm the storm, Mark indicates that He addresses more than a meteorological force but a being behind it. When He commands the sea, "Peace, be still!" the Greek phrase means "be muzzled or gagged," as though the storm were a maniac that had to be bound and restrained.

The waves of the world still rage against Christ's disciples, yet they will never be overwhelmed because Christ is in them (Psalm 46:1-3; 93:3-4).

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Stilling a Storm

Ephesians 4:14

To get the upper hand, men use trickery, cunning, and deceit to fool others into moving in the direction that they want them to go. Employing crafty and calculating "skills," they deceive and misdirect the unaware down a path that they never intended to go. They may speak smooth words—what they propose sounds great—but the consequences are destructive. Not all is as it seems.

Appearances can be very deceiving. A piece of fruit may look delicious on the outside, but the inside may be rotten. Consider a lake, for instance, which can seem calm and peaceful from the solidity of the shore, but from a boat on the water, a person feels the power of the currents and the violence of the wind that seems to blow almost a gale. A sea may be tranquil, with gentle breezes and water as smooth as glass, yet suddenly, it can be whipped into a dangerous and violent storm.

Matthew 8:23-27 contains the story of Jesus and His disciples weathering such a storm on the Sea of Galilee:

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

What did Jesus do while the small fishing boat pitched in the midst of a roaring storm? The winds whipped and churned the sea, and the waves crashed over the ship, creating intense fear in all aboard—except in Him. He was at peace—sleeping!—and His mind was at ease. Jesus' faith was mature and strong, not able to be "tossed to and fro." He knew how safe it was to be in God's protective hands.

When He was awakened, He reprimanded the disciples by saying, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" They had allowed themselves to see only the terror of the storm, forgetting that their Creator—One who had power over all nature—was lying contentedly asleep. They did not reckon that God would not allow His Son to perish like this, since that would ruin His plan. All they saw was the storm. They could not see the malevolent spirit behind the storm and that the storm was intended to blow them off course, to weaken their faith, and to divert them from their planned destination.

What about us? Do we allow the fierce winds that blow around us to toss us violently about, as if we were sitting in a dinghy on a stormy ocean, bobbing on the waves like a cork? Just remember that, when sail is put to the wind, even a dinghy can be successfully steered to its intended destination.

Gary Montgomery
Prevailing Winds


 




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