It is a wonderful life with Jesus, but any christian passionate for the Lord also knows that we are not guaranteed smooth sailing after the salvation prayer. The word tells us many times that we will suffer, but that we should not despair over our hard times and struggles. Peter put it bluntly when he said this: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you (1 Peter 4:12).” Jesus also addressed this when he said : “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).”
Knowing we will experience storms, it is imperative that we to hold true to what we know and have learned about Jesus. This sounds easy enough, but sometimes in the heat of the moment, or in the dark hours of a storm, everything we have learned in our faith and relationship with God goes out the window.
In the book of Mark, chapter 6, we find the disciples and Jesus recently reunited after they had been travelling in pairs preaching, healing, and driving out demons through the authority Jesus had given them. They were trying to find a quiet place to catch up and report all the great news, but crowds of people were chasing after Jesus, so Jesus stopped to preach to them. He preached all day and then fed them, 5000 of them, with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.
Basically, the disciples were coming off of a crazy, amazing miracle tour; seeing and doing things they never in their wildest dreams imagined. We can learn from them, and be encouraged that storms are difficult to navigate for every human. This brings us to our reading for today, the ending of Mark chapter 6:
“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. Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 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, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. 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
Sometimes we get so caught up straining, struggling against the wind in stormy waters..relying on our own strength, that we forget to remember how to walk with Jesus.
Don’t forget to remember these 3 things in your walk with Jesus (especially during the storms):
1. Remember who we serve, and who sends us.
Notice the first verse of our reading today says that Jesus sent the disciples ahead of him. Do you think that Jesus, the son of God, sent them and didn’t know the storm was coming? He knew, but he also knew how the struggle would end (John 16:30).
In reminding ourselves who we serve and who sends us, the thought shouldn’t stop at “Oh yea, God sends me.” … you have to really remember who it is that sends you: The almighty, all knowing God, creator of heaven and earth, the one who heals us and has a plan for us, the father who knows our sin, our brokenness, and loved us so much that he gave his only son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross so that we could have a relationship with him (John 3:16). The one who is Lord of all, everywhere at once, yet the father who is with us the moment we speak his name in truth (Psalm 145:18). The son Jesus Christ, who is holy, and righteous, and faithful! The son who has given us his Holy Spirit, who is ever living to be our intercessor (Hebrews 7:25). What a Lord we serve! What a Lord who sends us! (This is definitely a situation where you would declare those battle verses you have memorized)
If he sends us, he WILL ensure that we arrive safely. His will WILL be done, no matter what storm comes along. Live from the knowledge that, though the Lord may send us out, Jesus is always walking with us spiritually (Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 28:20, John 14:17).
2. Remember to call on Jesus
Noone in this story called out for Jesus to help, they just continued struggle in their own strength. The word tells us that Jesus did not go to the disciples immediately, though he saw them struggling. He continued with his prayers and when he was finished, when it was the darkest hour, he walked on top of the water, the very thing they were struggling in, towards them. Jesus has dominion over the very things we struggle with, the storms do not affect him! (Daniel 7:14) And, though I was not there, if I imagine how Jesus was walking, knowing what I know about the son of God, I bet he wasn’t pulling one of those nervous “i’m running late” panicky walks.. He was probably walking confidently, in long decisive steps… he was striding.
Jesus wants us to draw closer to him. When we surrender our hearts and lives to Jesus, we become part of his family (John 1:12). Not a broken family, but a family full of love and support. He wants us to be so close in relationship with him that it is our reflex to trust in the plan, and to turn to him (1 Chronicles 16:11). He wants constant relationship, not convenient relationship. And just because he sends us into stormy waters, it does not mean we cannot call on him. As children of God, we have the right to call on him. Because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross, we can approach the father at any time (Colossians 1: 21-23).
3. Remember not to get so worked up, that we don’t recognize Jesus.
How many times have we been so lost in our own problems and struggles that we cannot see Jesus walking right towards us, right beside us? Seriously, fear can blind us, it can overwhelm us to the point that we cannot think rationally. But God has not given us a spirit of fear, he has given us a spirit of power, love, and self discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). God has given us what we need to overcome fear. We are not born fearless, it is a skill that we can grow by making sure we believe the authority we have in Jesus, know the love we have from the father, and practice the self-discipline that the Holy Spirit brings.
God is always working in our lives, even in the struggles (Romans 8:28). We can rest knowing that whatever the struggle is, it will make us stronger, wiser, and more full of faith (Romans 5:3, Genesis 41:52). In our suffering we are being molded. We are not meant to get lost or caught up in the stormy waters, but to get caught up in Jesus. In his presence, in his relationship, in his holiness, in his freedom, in his glory! Do that, and your walk with Jesus during the storm will transform from STRAINING to STRIDING!
Everything we do is for the glory of God, even in our struggles. How amazing is it that our pain is not pain for the sake of pain, but for the sake of glorifying God, for the sake of furthering the Kingdom of heaven (Romans 8:18)! So then, we can approach our struggles like a victorious warrior, and not a victim (2 Timothy 2:3).
At the end, Jesus finally speaks and says: “Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid.” This message from Jesus is more than just a comment to calm the disciples down from their hysteria, it is a direction that he wants them to follow. He wants them to understand it, live by it. Today, in 2017 we can take note of this direction from Jesus, and know that in good times and in bad, we can take courage, because Jesus is with us. JESUS is the one we serve, and he cares for us. JESUS is the one who sends us, and his plan is perfect. JESUS is the one who we can call on no matter what. JESUS is the faithful one who walks with us through every struggle, so we can LOOK for where he is in the situation.
When Jesus and the disciples finally got to dry land, the disciples had the opportunity to continue their great adventure with Jesus. They got to walk with him, serve him, witness, and be a part of the wondrous things he was doing! They could have given up in the storm and completely renounced their love for Jesus, arguing that he didn’t care for them at all to send them into the storm… but instead of giving up, they stuck to their commitment. However ugly or weak their response was in their struggle, the important thing is that they did not give up on Jesus. They came out of the storm knowing a little more about Jesus (the man whom they served and who sent them), and they got to continue to live out their divine purpose!
The Lord has something special planned for each of us, but first we must let ourselves go. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:35
Our struggles are no longer about us. Our walk must be ABOUT Jesus and FOR Jesus. FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
“He must become greater; I must become less.”” John 3:30
Food for thought (or conversation):
- What area of your life are you struggling with right now, and how do you think God sees it? How do you think God will use it for good?
- What is your current contingency plan for when a storm strikes in your walk with Jesus?
Additional Scripture:
- “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”” Deuteronomy 31:6
- “Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.””
John 16:30 - “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:14
- “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11
- “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
- “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.” Psalm 73:23
- “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;” Romans 5:3
- “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” Matthew 28:20