“Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went and woke him. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care about us? We are going to drown!” ~Mark 4:34
When we are faced with difficult issues, it’s awfully easy to lose hope in God, especially when things don’t change as quickly as we’d like them to. Everything we see and hear seems to validate our feelings of hopelessness, worry or fear. It feels as though we are drowning in the rough seas of our emotions. So, how do we rest, as Jesus did, when storms are raging in our lives?
At this point in Jesus ministry, the disciples would have seen Jesus perform miracles. Yet, when the storm raged, they forgot the power that was present with them. After Jesus calmed the storm, He pointed out the heart of their issue. Faith. “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:39-40) Like the disciples, we can become terrified because we SEE the raging waves and FEEL our hearts being tossed to and fro. Because of what we see and feel, we question whether we’ll make it. And, like the disciples, we may not realize WHO is in the boat with us.
God desires that we have faith in Him, not in what we see. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18). In order to hold fast to our hope in difficult seasons, we must rest our hearts and minds in our faith, that our unseen God is who He says He is. “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]” (Hebrews 11:1 AMP) Our faith in God is not based on any evidence that the world may present. “For we live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) So, it does not matter what we see with our eyes or what we hear with our ears. Our faith in God is anchored in WHO He is. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
If we are not to lose sight of God in the midst of difficult situations, we must remember WHO is in the boat with us. We must recall all the times God calmed our stormy seas and made the impossible possible. If we feel like we are about to drown in our problems, it may mean we’ve lost sight of God. We’ve taken our eyes off of the One, who not only calms seas, He parts them.
Prayer: Father, I lift your marvelous name high in all the earth. In the middle of my storms, help me to remember that you are on the boat with me so there’s nothing to fear. Help me to focus on you instead of the winds and the waves. Increase my faith so that I can boldly declare that who is with me is greater than whatever is coming against me. By the power of the Holy Spirit, that lives within me, I speak , peace be still, to every storm in my life. I ask these things in the name of your beautiful son, Jesus. Amen.
On Earth As It Is In Heaven - 30-Day Devotional 