STORM STORIES
DAY 54: Have you ever blamed God for your troubles? This week alone our business got robbed - TWICE; my car got hit in a parking lot; my dad went into the hospital; and I had a setback at work. It has been a little stormy for the past seven days. Like me, perhaps you can relate keenly to the story in today's Bible reading in Mark 6.
After another very exhausting period of being mobbed by vast crowds, Jesus makes the decision to spend some time alone. He had just fed more than 5000 people with a few loaves of bread and taught until his voice was probably ready to give out. He greatly desired some alone time with His Father.
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Like the crowds, the disciples wanted to be by Jesus side. I can just hear them protesting: "But Jesus, let us go with you to pray... we won't bother you. We'll just watch." Having been privileged to walked so intimately with Him, I'm sure they did not want to be separated. That probably explains why the scripture reports that "Jesus made his disciples get into the boat." I can see Jesus handing the oar to Peter and then shoving them off with a wave.
Then, finally alone, Jesus climbed the mountain to meet with His Father. How precious and refreshing that time must have been. No crowds, no prying eyes, no eager disciples. Just time for Jesus to meet with His Father about the things that were pressing on His heart.
MEANWHILE... the disciples were not having such an easy go of it. Jesus had not only sent them out on the boat, He sent them into the middle of a great storm! With waves and winds buffeting the boat, the disciples were in real peril, but surely Jesus was too far away to hear them cry out. He didn't need to hear them. He had probably been praying for them and He knew when to intervene.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
The last person I think they expected to see was Jesus. He was the one who had sent them out into the boat alone in the first place. No wonder they thought it was a ghost coming towards them... they probably thought they were about to die! But as soon as they heard His voice, they knew it wasn't a ghost.
50 Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed...
Jesus to the rescue! But wait a minute. Jesus was the one who got them into that trouble. If he hadn't sent them out then they wouldn't have been in the storm. And if they wouldn't have been in the storm they wouldn't have been straining helplessly at the oars. And if they wouldn't have been straining at the oars, they wouldn't have almost capsized and drowned. And if they wouldn't have almost capsized and drowned, they never would have seen Jesus defy nature and walk on water, or personally come to their rescue or calm the furious storm.
Being in that storm at that time gave the disciples the opportunity to have a heart change as they watched Jesus do things a mere man could never do. They were given the same opportunity before when Jesus fed those 5000 plus people with a few loaves of bread; but scripture records that they missed it. Picking up where we left off...
51 Then he climbed into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard and they did not believe.
Jesus sent them into a storm, so that He could move them out of their turmoil of disbelief. The storm had a purpose that calm could not accomplish. When the crisis became personal, His power became more relevant and their hearts were wide open to understanding. It was one thing to watch the crowds depend on Jesus for food. The impact was far more dramatic when the tables turned and the need was theirs. Suddenly, depending on Him had a whole new meaning. The storm was no accident.
Perhaps the storms in my life are not accidental either. If we believe that God is sovereign then we have to believe that the miracles and the storms, times of feast and times of famine are all within His control. Sometimes He does send us into the storm for a purpose that only a storm can accomplish... But even as the storm rages, we will hear: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid." The wise person will look for and expect to see Jesus in the storm.
Day 54 of 365
Leviticus 14
Mark 6:30-56
Psalm 40:1-10
Proverbs 10:11-12
After another very exhausting period of being mobbed by vast crowds, Jesus makes the decision to spend some time alone. He had just fed more than 5000 people with a few loaves of bread and taught until his voice was probably ready to give out. He greatly desired some alone time with His Father.45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Like the crowds, the disciples wanted to be by Jesus side. I can just hear them protesting: "But Jesus, let us go with you to pray... we won't bother you. We'll just watch." Having been privileged to walked so intimately with Him, I'm sure they did not want to be separated. That probably explains why the scripture reports that "Jesus made his disciples get into the boat." I can see Jesus handing the oar to Peter and then shoving them off with a wave.
Then, finally alone, Jesus climbed the mountain to meet with His Father. How precious and refreshing that time must have been. No crowds, no prying eyes, no eager disciples. Just time for Jesus to meet with His Father about the things that were pressing on His heart.
MEANWHILE... the disciples were not having such an easy go of it. Jesus had not only sent them out on the boat, He sent them into the middle of a great storm! With waves and winds buffeting the boat, the disciples were in real peril, but surely Jesus was too far away to hear them cry out. He didn't need to hear them. He had probably been praying for them and He knew when to intervene.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
The last person I think they expected to see was Jesus. He was the one who had sent them out into the boat alone in the first place. No wonder they thought it was a ghost coming towards them... they probably thought they were about to die! But as soon as they heard His voice, they knew it wasn't a ghost.
50 Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed...
Jesus to the rescue! But wait a minute. Jesus was the one who got them into that trouble. If he hadn't sent them out then they wouldn't have been in the storm. And if they wouldn't have been in the storm they wouldn't have been straining helplessly at the oars. And if they wouldn't have been straining at the oars, they wouldn't have almost capsized and drowned. And if they wouldn't have almost capsized and drowned, they never would have seen Jesus defy nature and walk on water, or personally come to their rescue or calm the furious storm.
Being in that storm at that time gave the disciples the opportunity to have a heart change as they watched Jesus do things a mere man could never do. They were given the same opportunity before when Jesus fed those 5000 plus people with a few loaves of bread; but scripture records that they missed it. Picking up where we left off...
51 Then he climbed into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard and they did not believe.
Jesus sent them into a storm, so that He could move them out of their turmoil of disbelief. The storm had a purpose that calm could not accomplish. When the crisis became personal, His power became more relevant and their hearts were wide open to understanding. It was one thing to watch the crowds depend on Jesus for food. The impact was far more dramatic when the tables turned and the need was theirs. Suddenly, depending on Him had a whole new meaning. The storm was no accident.
Perhaps the storms in my life are not accidental either. If we believe that God is sovereign then we have to believe that the miracles and the storms, times of feast and times of famine are all within His control. Sometimes He does send us into the storm for a purpose that only a storm can accomplish... But even as the storm rages, we will hear: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid." The wise person will look for and expect to see Jesus in the storm.
Day 54 of 365
Leviticus 14
Mark 6:30-56
Psalm 40:1-10
Proverbs 10:11-12
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