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Verse:Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. —Mark 4:39
The voyage on the Simmonds from England to America was proceeding as normal. On board were eighty English colonists and twenty-six Moravian Christians, as well as the missionary brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley.
The Moravians (who were Germans) lived a simple and unworldly form of Christianity and were active missionaries. John Wesley was much impressed with their radiant joy and deep devotion. They took no offense at being mistreated and did not respond to any rude word spoken against them. In the early morning hours of Sunday, January 25, 1736, John Wesley joined the Moravians in their devotional.
But, in Wesley’s own words, suddenly, “the sea broke over, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sang on. I asked one of them afterwards, ‘Were you not afraid?’ He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’ I asked, ‘But were not your women and children afraid?’ He replied, mildly, ‘No; our women and children are not afraid to die.’” That one event generated significant changes in Wesley’s spiritual life and ministry. He had been trained for the ministry in Oxford, where, in 1729, he cofounded the “Holy Club” for those committed to overcoming sin and increasing holiness. Although he was an ordained Anglican minister and missionary, Wesley realized he was still missing the deep practical spirituality of the Moravians. How deeply rooted is your religion? How do you react during life-threatening storms? In reality, “those who are engaged in service for the Master need an experience much higher, deeper, broader, than many have yet thought of having.
Many who are already members of God’s great family know little of what it means to behold His glory and to be changed from glory to glory.” While working for the Lord, we need to deepen our personal experience with Him every day.
Only through a friendship with the Lord can we remain calm and confident that He is holding our hand during the stormy days as well as the sunny ones.