"He saw them toiling in rowing"

Mt. Timpanogos Temple, 2008 by David Jolley

My last semester of coursework has begun and I couldn't be more excited for May to come!  It is strange to think that after this semester I will never take another college class again.  I have now been in college for approximately 11 years, a full third of my entire life.  Strangely enough, by the time I graduate, I will have been a college student for at least as long as I was a student in the public schools.  I could only wish that all of that study and training carried with it a large income and immediate job offers, but as we all know, life hardly ever offers us just what we would wish for.  Perhaps, however, there is some great wisdom in never getting exactly what we hope and wish for.  Perhaps no mortal experience could be more challenging and dangerous than to always get what we want, how we want it, when we want it.

Along these lines, I have thought a lot about an experience I had in the Mount Timpanogos Temple a couple of weeks ago when I went to do some ordinance work for the dead.  The wait was fairly surprising for a weeknight and so I found myself with ample time to sit and read in the scriptures before they were ready for me.  From time to time, I just open the pages and read wherever it lands.  This was one of those times where that approach actually proved to be a blessing rather than an exercise in reading about various Levitical practices surrounding the Old Testament (my apologies if anyone is extremely excited by the book of Leviticus).

One of the places I ended up reading was Mark 6:45-51.  In these verses I found an important message for me and perhaps it is worthwhile to others as well.  It is the story of the Savior walking on the water. Whereas Matthew emphasizes Peter's simultaneous experience with walking on the water, Mark's account (which most seem to believe came from Peter) is uniquely focused on the Savior.  The context of the story is interesting.  The Savior had just fed the five thousand and after everyone had eaten, He commanded His disciples "to get into the ship, and go to the other side before Bethsaida" (Mark 6:45), and to then wait for Him there.  When they had left and gotten out onto the Sea of Galilee, "He departed into a mountain to pray" (Mark 6:46).

It is here, with the Savior on the mountain and the disciples on the sea that the story became applicable to me.  While He was there on the mountain communing with His Father, a storm arose on the Sea.  Not long before this event the disciples had found themselves in a similar storm with the Master asleep on the boat, prompting their worried petition, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" and His subsequent rebuke of the storm with the simple words "Peace, be still" (Mark 4:38-39).  But now they were alone in the ship and the Savior was not readily available to calm the storm for them.  What we read, instead is "And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them" (Mark 6:48).  He was not unmindful of their plight.  He saw them and watched over them.

The reaction of the disciples during this storm was so different than the last.  When an immediate miracle was not available for the asking, they found the strength to keep rowing against the wind.  It's doubtful that they made much progress, for the wind was indeed "contrary to them."  But given the option between rowing and sinking, they continued to row.  The Savior sat there on the mountain watching them for some time.  "About the fourth watch of the night [somewhere between 2 and 4 in the morning], he cometh unto them walking upon the sea, and would have passed them by.  But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled.  And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.  And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased" (Mark 6:48-51).  He let them struggle and row against the wind for several hours.  And even when the time came for Him to come to them, it was necessary for them to hail Him before He came into the ship and the winds calmed down.

I believe that the Lord does this for each of us from time to time.  It sounds harsh and uncaring, that He would watch us struggle and row against strong winds when the power is in Him to calm the winds with a simple phrase.  But the disciples grew by struggling against the storm.  As painful as it can be to contemplate, we all grow by doing hard things, by drinking bitter cups, by rowing against the storm.

The part of the story that I love is that the record does not say that the Savior calmed the winds.  It says that "the wind ceased."  Life holds all kinds of storms for us.  Some of these are long and violent and cause us to wonder if they will ever end.  But storms end, winds calm down, and life goes on.  Indeed, life not only goes on, it gets better and better in the process.  We don't need a miracle to calm every storm.  Sometimes we just need to batten down the hatches, be patient, and keep rowing with faith that the Lord is watching over us and will never give us more than we can truly handle.  Indeed, often the words "Peace, be still" are meant not so much for the storm as they are for us.  If we will trust God, He will give us the strength to keep rowing and moving forward throughout the storm.

Brett