Perspectives

Mark 4:35-41… 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!” (NIV)

There are times when we are faced with something that gets us in trouble. Jesus was no different when he was walking among people. He had to deal with all sorts of issues that would have been a real challenge for us. Sometimes I think that tribulations should happen only to those who deserve them, those who are being bad and doing evil things. But that is not what is happening out on the lake; is it?

We see both the good and bad struggling with difficult issues. We wish, however, that the good people, the Christians, would be left out of these constant skirmishes with forces that try to mislead us. But hey!! Jesus faced those skirmishes every day of his life here on earth. Just imagine: Christ came from heaven’s glory to be a human being; that would have been a real let-down for us. Then there were those who tried to kill him. Even when Jesus was hanging on the cross between two thieves, they turned on him too. He did not deserve this kind of treatment. So why did he suffer like that? Well!! Because you and I were worth more than anything else in the world to him… and he did this so that his death on the Cross would pay the ransom for our sins.

In our Scripture passage we read about a literal storm, a storm bad enough to sink any small boat like the one the disciples and Jesus were in. The disciples feared this storm might sink their boat; but where was Jesus? He was at the stern of the boat on a pillow sleeping. Notice what the disciples did next: Last part of verse 38 says, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? They thought that Jesus was indifferent towards their situation. Did He really care that they were all about to drown? Their cry to Jesus was… Kind of like us when we are overcome with fear. Kind of like us when we are faced with some life-wrenching struggles that we can not solve. We are very much like the disciples. The cry of our heart is that God should do something to remove those overwhelming troubles in our lives.

When life’s problems are too big for us, and we ask Christ to remove the burden; sometimes He will remove the burden with a single word. Sometimes He will intervene supernaturally to still the storm and calm our heart. He has the power to do it. But sometimes He will not intervene. He will let the storm rage. In His wisdom Jesus will allow us to go through trying times, to discipline us, to bring us back when we have backslidden, to test our faith, to refine our faith so that we can have an overcoming mature victorious faith.

The truth of the matter is that we all feel at times that Jesus is indifferent to our need, so, we like the disciples cry out, “Lord do you not care that we are going through this hard time?” But we hear nothing. However, He is not indifferent, and He does care. The thing we are going through may be necessary. It might be necessary to develop our faith; after all, faith drives out fear. The Bible teaches that we have not been given a spirit of fear. The only reason we ever question God is that of fear. When we learn to trust God, fear leaves us. Who Is this? It is Jesus Christ the Son of God. In the presence of Jesus, we can have peace even in the wildest storms of life… To God Be the Glory Great Things He Has Done.

Would you pray this prayer with me … “Lord Jesus, come into my heart? Forgive my sins, for I have many. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I don’t have peace in my heart, I really want that peace, joy, and happiness that I long for. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will bring honour to You Name.” Amen