I was listening today to a teaching that centered around Mark 4 where Jesus was in the boat with his disciples. He tells them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” The problem came when they were crossing over and a terrible storm arose. Keep in mind these were fishermen….and they were very afraid of drowning. What was Jesus doing? He was sleeping! Can you imagine what was going on in their minds? Finally they woke him up and asked, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown????”
Immediately
Jesus arose and calmed the storm with a simple command, then he asked
his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
We can’t judge the disciples too harshly because we might very well
have been in a similar situation and crying out to the Lord
ourselves.
The
question becomes: where is your faith when you are in the storm? You
have do ask yourself:
Is
God good? That would be an absolute yes!
Does
He care what happens to us? Without question He loves and cares for
each of us!
Can
He handle it? Of course He can. God can do anything He wants to do.
So
where is our faith? Are we just trying to get through the storm in
our own strength? That does not work. If Jesus is in your boat, do
you really have to worry? Whatever God tells you to do, just do it.
Don’t question it no matter how small or how big it may seem. An army
may be lined up against you, but you and God are a majority! Don’t
let the fear of failure, the fear of the future, or fear of your
current circumstances hold you back.
True
faith requires action. Just know that when God tells you to do
something you can count on being tested. Don’t be surprised by it.
Know that the testing of your faith reveals your true motives and
your character. If you fold in the face of a storm, you have to ask
yourself how much faith you really have.
By
the way, everybody fails. Everybody makes mistakes…and everybody
falls short of the glory of God. It is only thru Christ that we can
become fully alive and live the lives that God destined for us. I was
sharing with a group of men over breakfast that despite my eyesight
problem, I have gained greater insight into myself and into other
people. God has used my frailties to help me see things in a
spiritual sense that I might have otherwise missed.
Whatever
battle you face, don’t despair. If God called you to it, He will help
you through it. You don’t have to understand, you just have to trust
and obey.
