ALL was settled in His mind. He did not suggest that they attempt to reach the other side of the lake, which was the country of the Gadarenes (5:1), but He spoke definitely of actually crossing over. If they had remembered these words later they would have known that no storm could alter His plans for them and for Himself.
Jesus Christ our Lord is Master of all circumstances and sufficient for every emergency—winds and waves obey Him, demons flee before Him, disease and death are destroyed when He appears. Nothing can withstand His power. He has all authority in heaven and on earth. And the wonderful thing for us to know is that He is our Saviour and Redeemer. We who have trusted Him are bidden now to cast every care upon Him because He careth for us. Difficulties are but opportunities for Him to display His power. Emergencies give us the privilege of proving His loving interest in us as we confide in His grace and count on His might.
“The words were His! The Master’s! He had spoken!
‘Let us pass over to the other side.’
And so, they hoisted sail, — let go the shore-line,
And out upon the deep their craft did glide.
Then night came down, and with it came a tempest,
And fierce and wild the angry billows swept;
Their boat began to fill; they grew distracted,
And cried aloud to Him, who strangely slept.
Perhaps their hearts had missed the hidden meaning.
The wondrous import of that little word, —
The link connecting them in such a union,
The ‘US’—uniting servants with their Lord.”
—J. Denson Smith.