Mark 4:35-41 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 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. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!?”
So, in the middle of a fierce storm, the disciples were overcome with fear. As is common with us when we’re afraid, they began to doubt the character of Jesus. They questioned him with, “do you not care?”
I know there’ve been times during my own storms when I’ve wondered if God’s eyes could be closed. And it’s during those moments that you can turn into a control freak with feelings like, “DO something about this… fix it!” We grab onto some kind of component we can control (kids, housekeeping, diet,…) and we become irritable and mean as we become more and more insecure. The fangs come out. The growling begins.
Jesus held an incredible track record. He’d already healed the sick, cast out demons, and taught some amazing truths. (See Matthew 4:23, 8:3, 13; 8:16) But fear dulls our memory. How quickly we forget the love and power of our King Jesus.
I read somewhere one day that when fear consumes us, then safety becomes our god. That really hit home with me. And as I thought about it further, I realized that not only that, but our personality is tainted with timidity and a lack of confidence or irritation, grumpiness, and bursts of anger.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
No comments:
Post a Comment