On the Other Side

"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, 'Let's go over to the other side."( Mark 4:35) It was already beginning to get dark when they got in the boat but then the storm hit. They couldn't see to navigate. The wind and waves tossed their boat, they had no control. They were already tired before they got on the boat but the strain of both anxiety and mussel was more than they could stand. Although they were together in the boat the fear they felt caused each to feel alone. And where was he the one who invited them to go with them to the other side, He was asleep in the boat.

On the other side a madman waited hiding among the tombs. He screamed at the rain that pelted him. No one was strong enough to tame him or bind him. Many had tried but he broke the chains and snapped the ropes. Tonight was the same as all nights he was roaming through the graveyard screaming and slashing himself with sharp stones. No one was strong enough to bind him, no one was strong enough to set him free, or so it was thought.

"Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?" When Jesus awoke He spoke to the wind and the waves and the sea became as smooth as glass. When they got to the other side the madman saw Jesus he ran to Him and cried, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Do not torment me." With a word Jesus released the man from the demons who had tormented him. With a word Jesus brought peace to the storm without and the storm within.

Getting to the "other side" often involves a storm. I don't think the disciples would have been able to understand the peace and the power that having Jesus with them could bring unless they had experienced the storm. The storm that showed them the contrast between who they were and who He is. The man who had been possessed would have never known the peace and the mercy Jesus had to give if he had not known the power of his madness.

Lord Jesus, I often hear You inviting me to go with You to the other side. Help me not to be afraid of the storms in my life but instead by faith to consider them joy because in the storms of life I come to know You better, whether the storm is internal of external. And Lord Jesus, when the storm is passed let me share with others my story of Your mercy. The mercy I have found by being invited to go with You to the other side.