Nobody enjoys a storm, unless we watch it safely from a shore - then the awesome power of the wind and the waves can thrill us. But to be in a little boat in the middle of a terrifying storm - the word that is used to describe it means ‘earthquake’ is another matter.
Craig Keener:
‘Storms often rose suddenly on the lake called the Sea of Galilee; these fishermen had usually stayed closer to Capernaum and are unprepared for a squall this far from shore. The only place one could sleep in a small fishing boat with water pouring in from a storm would be on the elevated stern, where one could use the wooden or leather-covered helmsman’s seat, or a pillow kept under that seat, as a cushion for one’s head. Jesus’ sleep during the storm may indicate the tranquillity of faith (Ps 4:8; cf. 2 Kings 6:16–17, 32; Prov 19:23); in some Greek stories, the genuineness of philosophers’ faith in their own teachings on tranquility was tested in storms’.1
In the midst of the storm, Jesus seemed to be oblivious, sleeping. That’s a picture of calm, but it could also suggest a lack of care. When I’m stuck in a storm - like right now - God often seems silent, able to act but not taking any action. It’s one thing to face what seems impossible, another to talk with the Jesus with whom all things are possible, but sense distance or even disinterest from Him.
But faith, while expressing what we feel (‘Lord, don’t you care is a raw, honest and appropriate prayer), leads to faithfulness.
Kent Hughes:
‘Christ seemed to be unaware of their plight. Of course, we know that in the Incarnation Christ chose to always live in conscious dependence upon the Father. Therefore, he could sleep a real sleep knowing that the Father would awaken him to do his will. Nevertheless, their perception of Christ’s apparent obliviousness to their misery is a picture of how we often feel in life’s storms. So often we mistakenly conclude that we are alone; that no one, not even God, knows what is happening and how we are feeling. How wrong we are! God knows every wave that falls on us. He knows the rate of our hearts, our respiration, the innermost thoughts in our minds, our emotions, even our dreams. That tiny boat bearing Christ and his own was the object of the most minute Heavenly attention. And so it is in our difficulties, even in death!’2
1 Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Mk 4:35–41). InterVarsity Press.
2 Hughes, R. K. (1989). Mark: Jesus, servant and savior (Vol. 1, pp. 114–115). Crossway Books.