Chapter 14

Power over Wind and Waves

HAVE you ever been in a storm when the wind was blowing very hard?⁠— Were you afraid?⁠— It is good to be careful at a time like that. For you could be hurt in a bad storm.

So what should you do when the wind starts blowing hard, or when you see lightning flash from the sky? What do you think?⁠— The wise thing to do is to go indoors. If you don’t, the wind could blow down a branch of a tree on you. Or lightning could strike you. Hundreds of persons are killed every year in storms.

You and I cannot stop strong winds from blowing. And we cannot calm the big waves of the sea. In fact, there is no human alive that can do this. But did you know that there once lived on earth someone who had power over wind and waves?⁠— It was Jesus, the Great Teacher. Would you like to hear what he did?⁠—

Late one day after he had been teaching by the Sea of Galilee, he said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” So they set out in a boat and started to sail across the lake.

Jesus was very tired. He had worked hard all day. So he went to the back of the boat and  lay down on a pillow. Soon he was fast asleep.

The disciples stayed awake to keep the boat on its course. Everything was all right for a while, but then a strong wind sprang up. It blew harder and harder, and the waves kept getting bigger. The waves began splashing into the boat, and the boat started to fill up with water. The disciples were afraid they were going to sink.

But Jesus was not afraid. He was still asleep in the back of the boat. Finally, the disciples woke him up, and said: ‘Teacher, Teacher, save us; we are about to die in this storm.’

At that, Jesus got up and spoke to the wind and the waves. “Hush! Be quiet!” he said. Right away the wind stopped blowing. The lake became calm.

The disciples were amazed. They had never seen anything like it before. They began saying to one another: “Who really is this, for he orders even the winds and the water, and they obey him?”​—Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25.

Do you know who Jesus is?⁠— Do you know from where he receives his great power?⁠— The disciples should not have been afraid when Jesus was there with them, because Jesus was no ordinary man. He could do wonderful things that no other person could do. Let me tell you about something else that he once did on a stormy sea.

It was sometime later, on another day. When it became evening Jesus told his disciples to  board a boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the sea. Then Jesus went up into the mountain by himself. It was a quiet place where he could pray to his Father, Jehovah God.

The disciples got into the boat, and started to sail across the sea. But soon a wind began blowing. It blew harder and harder. It was now nighttime.

The men took down the sail and began to row. But they were not getting very far, because the strong wind was blowing against them. The boat was rocking back and forth in the high waves, and water was splashing in. The men worked hard trying to reach shore, but they could not.

Jesus was still alone in the mountain. He had been there a long time. But now he could see that his disciples were in danger in the high waves. So he came down from the mountain to the edge of the sea. He did not jump in and start to swim, and he did not wade into the water. No, but Jesus started walking out over the top of the stormy sea just like we would walk on green grass!

 What would happen if you tried to walk on water? Do you know?⁠— You would sink, and you might drown. But Jesus was different. He had special powers.

Jesus had a long walk of about three or four miles to reach the boat. So it was about dawn when the disciples saw Jesus coming toward them over the water. But they couldn’t believe what they saw. They were very frightened, and they cried out in their fear.

Then Jesus spoke to them: “Take courage, it is I; have no fear.”

As soon as Jesus got up into the boat, the storm stopped. The disciples were again amazed. They fell down before Jesus, and said: “You are really God’s Son.”​—Matthew 14:23-33; John 6:16-21.

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to live back then and to see Jesus do things like that?⁠— Well, we can live at a time when Jesus will do things that are just as wonderful.

The Bible says that God has made Jesus the Ruler in the kingdom of God, and soon only his government will rule over this earth. No one who is living then will ever have to be afraid of a storm. Jesus will use his power over wind and waves for the blessing of all who obey him. Won’t that be a wonderful time in which to live?⁠—

(Other texts showing the great power of Jesus as the one whom God makes Ruler in the kingdom of God are: Matthew 28:18; Daniel 7:13, 14; Ephesians 1:20-22.)