Sunday, March 16, 2014

Jesus Calms the Storm...

In Mark 4:35 - 41, we read one of Jesus' more famous miracles...

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

I love the what is illustrated here - the human nature to doubt in the disciples and the awesome power over even the storm in Jesus. Although Christ was sinless, I can imagine what would have gone through my head in His place. "Guys, have I ever failed to protect you before?" Or maybe, "Come on guys, I'm the Son of God Himself, what makes you think anything can happen to this boat while I'm on it?" Really though, He would have been fully able to remind them in any way He saw fit. Rather than quoting Scripture and reminding them of God's promises, He chose to show them who He was with proof of His power. 

This wouldn't be the last time the disciples had trust issues, either. There were other times when Jesus chose to prove who He was, His goodness, and His faithfulness throughout His ministry. He could have just reminded them each time, "Remember the storm, guys?" Time and time again he chooses to show His power and prove His love rather than just talk about it. 

Likewise, we (myself definitely included!) go through periods of doubt. Maybe we pray for something that doesn't happen as fast as we'd like or we're in a circumstance we think that God should save us from. We lose sight of who He is and what the Bible tells us about Him and we focus on our own fears and insecurities instead. Rather than getting an impatient reminder of what He's done in the past, He steps in and shows us His love where we are. It's not always in the way we want or in a way that we might expect, but He is always faithful... this time in our doubt, and the next, and the next, and the next.

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