Jesus, Sender of the Storm (Part 2)

Today’s Treasure

Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.  After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray... 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… They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately He spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,  for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. 

Mark 6: 45-52

Jesus sends storms to give us a necessary course correction.

From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord His God. He said, “In my distress I called to the Lord and He answered me.  From the deep, in the realm of the dead I called for help and you listened to my cry.”

Jonah 2:2-3

There is nothing more convincing than a storm to cause us to take pause and question the circumstances we find ourselves in.  Like Jonah, if we surrender our fears and questions over to the Lord we will often find that the storm was the very impetus for a much-needed course correction.  

It is so natural for us to follow our human inclinations in a crisis instead of the advice of Scripture:

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding

Proverbs 3:5

We pray for answers with our own vision of the outcome in mind on how we want things to work out.  And even while the spirit may be willing, we must always be mindful that the flesh is weak and at war with the things of God.  Often, it takes a loving Father to set us in the right direction.  Any parent understands the battle that takes place between the choices and actions of a child, and the rational strategies that need to be used to deter potential destructive behaviors.

We often pray “big prayers” with the best of intentions but feel sidelined when those prayers are answered by our house of cards crashing down.  When my series of trials hit me, I couldn’t have been busier with the things of God.  I was teaching three Bible studies, sat on my church board, taught Sunday school, and was involved in numerous “Christian” activities.  There was nothing wrong with that but doing is a lot different than being.  My course correction led to a broken heart and the ability to see with different eyes and hear with different ears.  It plunged me into an environment of “inmates” and “courts” and “humiliation” which opened up the spiritual world in a way that I would never have seen in an unbroken position.

LIFE GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

Every trial and tribulation in our lives must pass through the scarred hands of a loving sovereign Savior who knows what is best for us.  

PRAYER

Father help me to never lose sight that You love me regardless of what I see in front of me. That You are pruning me and protecting me from things seen and unseen.  May we always remember Your sovereignty, Your power, Your presence, and accept everything in Your good and perfect will. Amen and amen!