One of my favorite stories of Jesus is when he calms the sea.
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”! Mark 4:35-41
We’ve all been there, in the mists of one of life’s storms wondering where God is in all this and crying out for him to help us. I know I have a lot of experience in this. Through the loss of my mother, being a victim of bullying and even darker storms that I won’t go into right now. I know what it’s like to be caught in the waves and wondering if this is how I’m going to drown.
Where is my faith in those moments? Did I even have faith in those moments at all? For me it was calling out to a God I thought was sleeping. A God that I was sure was unaware of what I was going through. But a God who calmed those storms and has said, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith”? The answer was no. No I didn’t. I’m afraid because I don’t know why I’m going through this storm and I need answers. “Where is your hand in all of these things Lord”? “What’s the point of my suffering”? The answer to these is simple. God is sovereign.
He is God and I am not. He has a reason for the trials he allowed me to go through. I may know the reasons why or I may not. Why the Lord took my mother home to be with him, I don’t know. I just have to trust his purpose in it.
I think Jesus was hurt by his disciple’s lack of faith. They had been called to leave everything and fallow him and they would be shone many miracles and signs of who he was. And they had and the same is true for us.
Jesus is hurt by our lack of faith. When we say we trust him but take matters into our own hands when we don’t think he is listening or acting quickly enough we hurt him. It causes a strain in our relationship with him. Yes he’ll forgive us, but how much easier would it be to just believe he will do everything he said he would.
When we look back at what Christ has brought us through we can see those promises have been fulfilled and we can know that Christ will bring us through the next storm.
“Faith arises from the personal experiences of Jesus as Lord. Hope is reliance on the promise of Jesus, accompanied by the expectation of fulfillment. Trust is the winsome wedding of faith and hope.” “Ruthless Trust”- Brennan Manning
Come, Lord Jesus!
Matthew
