“And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still.!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:39
The Peace of God is one of the essential forces of the re-created human spirit, and it’s powerful enough to calm storms at sea! In order to get more insight into this event, Jesus was on His way to Gadara when this storm hit the ship. The region of Gadara was a huge demonic stronghold at the time. We know that because there was a large herd of swine there, and we know that no Jew, who reverenced Levitical laws, would have anything to do with pigs. Gadara was the place to go if you wanted some baby back ribs, pork roast, ham, and other non-kosher food. It was a little sin-city! So it was no coincidence that there was a possessed man with a legion of demons who lived there among the tombs.
Also, being a sin city, it was the devil’s turf and he wanted to protect it. Thus, the storm! It was the supernatural Peace of God in Jesus that calmed that storm. His heart was full of the Shalom Peace of God. When He released it, the abundance of that Peace was greater than the storm!
We all have storms to deal with. Whether our storms are emotions, thoughts, sickness in our bodies, relational or financial storms; we need to know that we have the same Peace in our spirit that Jesus had. It was birthed in us when we were born again. What we need is training in how to operate in His Peace! This is what meditation in the Word accomplishes in us. It nurtures and cultivates the fruit of Peace in us until it becomes an active force in our lives. When our heart is abundant with God’s Peace, we can calm those storms by speaking to them like Jesus taught us by example!
Before Jesus left Gadara, the swine were gone, and the demoniac was completely delivered and in his right mind. When the people of Gadara saw that their “pork businesses” were down the tubes, they told Jesus to leave! So, He went on His way, but not until He put a devastating hole in the devil’s entire operation! The Power of God’s Peace was given to us to work the same way! It will help us bring heaven’s solutions to all the storms we encounter.
With Love,
Pastor Tom