Peace, Be Still

That gracious Master, aroused from His sleep in so rough a manner, now arose in His quiet majesty and power and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still." The wind and the waves were calm, as savage dogs lie down at the bidding of their master. These words of the Lord appear to show clearly that this storm came not from God, but had been brought about by Satan. In the former case Jesus would not have rebuked the wind. The cause as well as the intent why this storm was sent appears to be just the opposite to Jonah's case.
“And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it ye have no faith?" The gracious Master did not begin with rebuking His disciples as we most likely would have done in a similar case. He first rebuked the winds, then His disciples. First He removed the cause of their unbelief, then He reproved their unbelief: first grace, then truth. He dwelt among them full of grace and truth. So it ought to be with us.
“And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" Now at last they seemed to become conscious again of who it was that had slept so calmly in the hinder part of the ship, though they had daily heard His mighty words and works.
Do we not too often resemble those disciples in the ship? Like them we enjoy the peace after the storm, after the Lord through His wondrous and gracious intervention has once more strengthened and rebuked our little faith. But where is our peace during the storm? What do we know of the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts (Col. 3:15)? What do we know of that peace of which the Lord spoke before He left this world to enter into glory, through the sufferings of the cross, there to prepare a place for us? How much do we know of this peace amidst the storms of opposition in a hostile world, a peace of which the life of Jesus on earth was the perfect expression? (Psa. 16:8-11; Acts 2:25-28.)