All Creation Groans: Obedient to Its Creator

Text: “26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:26).

We perceive the forces of nature as wild, untamed, and out of control. In spite of all the advancements we have made in our understanding of physics and the sciences, all the ways that we are capable of controlling and putting the materials around us to use for our own purposes, nature, itself, is hopelessly beyond us. The sun, moon, and stars continue their relentless march, marking days and times and seasons. I can’t think of a single science fiction story that imagines humanity being able to speed them up or slow them down, let alone stop them in their course. We have developed enough skill to be able to predict the weather a day or two in advance. But even that is not necessarily ‘predicting’ the weather as much as it is having satellites and communications systems to tell us what the weather in Wisconsin looks like and knowing we’ll probably get that same thing tomorrow. Anything beyond a day or two is barely more than a guess. Who can predict the wind or the storms or the waves? That is just a pipe dream. As a result, you and I perceive nature to be, at best, beyond any hope of our control and, at worst, wild, untamed, and chaotic.

The thing is: It’s not. Nature is perfectly obedient to its creator. The sun was perfectly willing to stop its unrelenting march at the bidding of God through Joshua. Rivers and seas parted at His command through Moses. The wind and the waves that are so far beyond our understanding, let alone our control, halted in a moment at a single word from Jesus.

To be fair, that is a sign of the scope of God’s power, majesty, and authority. The disciples were completely right to wonder what kind of man was there in the boat with them, “that even winds and sea obey him” (Matthew 8:27). They were rightly terrified of Him, realizing the power and authority that He possessed (Mark 4:31). He is the one who laid the foundation of the earth (Job 38:4). He determined its measurements, stretched the line upon it, it was He who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy (Job 38:5-6). But it also reflects the fact that creation is obedient to its creator. He has commanded the morning since days began and caused the dawn to know its place (Job 38:12); He has not only walked upon the water, He has entered into the springs of the deep (Job 38:16); He was entered the storehouses of snow, He has seen the storehouses of hail that He has reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war (Job 38:22-23). He leads forth the constellations in their season (Job 38:32); He sends forth lightnings (Job 38:35); He can number the clouds by His wisdom (Job 38:37). It is a sign of His power, majesty, and authority. And it is a sign that nature is still perfectly obedient to its creator.

It’s not the wind that is wild, untamed, and chaotic. It’s you. It’s your sinful nature.

The wind and waves obeyed Jesus’ command to ‘be still’. Jesus commands you to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; He commands you to love your neighbor as yourself. And your sinful nature pretends not to hear. He commanded you: You shall have no other gods; You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God; Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy; Honor your father and mother; You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; You shall not covet. All 10 of those commands were not sufficient to still the winds of sinful passions within your heart and mind, to hold back the waves of rebelliousness, of hate, of greed, of lust. It’s not nature that is wild, untamed, and beyond any control. It is you. It’s your sinful flesh.

The book of James is saying as much when it points out that “7 every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:7–8). Do you think taming the wind and the waves was impressive? Try taming your tongue. It would be easier to hold back the raging wind than it is to hold back your tongue from gossip, from complaining, from coarse talk, from crude joking.

Some of you may remember a singer/songwriter by the name of Rich Mullins. He wrote a song that expressed this point in a very powerful way.

Well, it took the hand of God Almighty To part the waters in the sea But it only took one little lie To separate you and me Oh, we are not as strong As we think we are And they say that one day Joshua He made the sun stand still in the sky But I can't even keep These thoughts of you from passing by

Oh, we are not as strong As we think we are

We are frail We are fearfully and wonderfully made Forged in the fires of human passion Choking on the fumes of selfish rage And with these our hells and our heavens So few inches apart We must be awfully small And not as strong as we think we are”

(Rich Mullins, “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are.”).

Mr. Mullins is absolutely correct. Our powerlessness before the wind and the waves hardly holds a candle to our powerlessness over our own hearts and minds.

That is why Jesus came. He, the One who laid the foundations of the earth, who has walked the recesses of the deep, who numbers the clouds with His wisdom, was not ashamed to be called your Brother (Hebrews 2:11).

He was strong enough to part the waters at the hand of Moses. And, more importantly, He was strong enough to part you from your sin and guilt. He was strong enough to calm the storm that day and He was strong enough to bear the fires of human passion and the fumes of your selfish rage all the way to the cross where He “took [your] infirmities and [bore y]our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:17, quoting Isaiah 53:4).

You esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted, but it was actually the storm of God’s wrath overtaking Him. There was no holding it back. It washed over Him until it was spent “5 He was pierced for [y]our transgressions; he was crushed for [y]our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought [you] peace, and with his wounds [you] are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

He is able to sympathize with your weaknesses because He was tempted in every respect as you are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). There is no need to fear Him, even knowing His power and authority and majesty and glory. He invites you to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, that you may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

And He knows that there is no ‘reforming’— no ‘fixing’— your sinful nature. He didn’t become part of this creation to teach you how to dress up your sinful nature in nicer clothes or help your Old Adam learn how to behave in public. He puts it to death and raises you to a new life. In the same authority that calmed the wind and the waves, He says to you, “I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the raging winds of your sinful passions are stilled and the new life He has given you is renewed. He continues to sustain you by the power of His Word until, one day soon, “16 the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command.… And the dead in Christ will rise.…” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Until that day, He, Himself, opens your lips to declare His praise. He both commands and invites you to call upon Him in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks (Luther’s Small Catechism, Explanation of the 2nd Commandment). He teaches you to defend your neighbor, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything (Luther’s Small catechism, Explanation of the 8th Commandment).

At His command, by the power of His Word, the fumes of selfish rage are extinguished within you and, in their place, He fills you with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22).

“15 [So] let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:15–17).

You and I perceive the forces of nature to be wild, untamed, and beyond any control, but the obedience of this creation is also a testimony to what God has done for you in Jesus Christ.