In the boat with Jesus
I was preparing a Bible study this morning for an opportunity later this week from Mark 4. It's a familiar passage about the disciples out in a boat with Jesus when a bad storm quickly arises on the Galilee.
I'm told those storms actually still happen there; out of nowhere, it seems. The are fierce, scary and cause otherwise rational people to think irrationally. These disciples were not unacquainted with those storms. Some of them were men used to the sea and used to handling those storms. Still, this one caused even those seasoned sailors to shift into panic mode. Have you been there?
Their reaction (after bailing and rowing, I would imagine) was to go elbow Jesus in the ribs, wake him up and say "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" I am interested to see a couple of ways in which this was a very self-centered response to a very difficult situation.
First; why was it about them? Don't you care if WE drown? For all the times we talk about how "it's all about Jesus," this was one time when he was right in the boat and they still focused on themselves. Secondly, I noticed, from verse 36, that "there were also other boats with him." These guys were worried about their own well-being, and there were several other boats in the same body of water, facing the same storm. Anything to be near Jesus. I suspect everybody was worried, but the disciples in Jesus' boat could only muster the awareness to say "Don't you care?"
There is something about trouble and distress that makes us very self-focused. That's natural, but let's think about it a minute. If God sends, or brings these storms into our lives, doesn't it follow that his desire would be for us to get our attention on him?
We, of course, have the luxury of knowing that we are never alone or forsaken by God (Hebrews 13:5), so the next storm we face, let's use the certainty of that to drive us to look for him in the middle of the storm. If he is there sleeping in the boat, it's not because he isn't concerned; it's because there is reason for calm. That's what he said to the wind and waves, right? "Quiet; Be still!" Certainly, as Lord of creation, he could have just willed that to happen. Maybe he said it out loud for the sake of his terrified disciples. As I was reading, I was interested to read one fellow who said God will either stop the storm; get us through the storm, or take us out of the storm.
Either way, I want to stay in his boat.
I'm told those storms actually still happen there; out of nowhere, it seems. The are fierce, scary and cause otherwise rational people to think irrationally. These disciples were not unacquainted with those storms. Some of them were men used to the sea and used to handling those storms. Still, this one caused even those seasoned sailors to shift into panic mode. Have you been there?
Their reaction (after bailing and rowing, I would imagine) was to go elbow Jesus in the ribs, wake him up and say "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" I am interested to see a couple of ways in which this was a very self-centered response to a very difficult situation.
First; why was it about them? Don't you care if WE drown? For all the times we talk about how "it's all about Jesus," this was one time when he was right in the boat and they still focused on themselves. Secondly, I noticed, from verse 36, that "there were also other boats with him." These guys were worried about their own well-being, and there were several other boats in the same body of water, facing the same storm. Anything to be near Jesus. I suspect everybody was worried, but the disciples in Jesus' boat could only muster the awareness to say "Don't you care?"
There is something about trouble and distress that makes us very self-focused. That's natural, but let's think about it a minute. If God sends, or brings these storms into our lives, doesn't it follow that his desire would be for us to get our attention on him?
We, of course, have the luxury of knowing that we are never alone or forsaken by God (Hebrews 13:5), so the next storm we face, let's use the certainty of that to drive us to look for him in the middle of the storm. If he is there sleeping in the boat, it's not because he isn't concerned; it's because there is reason for calm. That's what he said to the wind and waves, right? "Quiet; Be still!" Certainly, as Lord of creation, he could have just willed that to happen. Maybe he said it out loud for the sake of his terrified disciples. As I was reading, I was interested to read one fellow who said God will either stop the storm; get us through the storm, or take us out of the storm.
Either way, I want to stay in his boat.
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