Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?
(Mark 4:40, NLT)
- The Story (Mark 4:35-41)
Jesus told his disciples that “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake”. There was a starting point and a destination. They jumped on a boat with Jesus and started their journey. But soon a fierce storm came up. The scripture says “High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water” v37. And the disciples thought that they were going to be consumed by the fierce storm. The interesting part of the story is that, in the midst of the fierce storm, “Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion” v38.
How could you sleep when we are drowning?
The disciples were overwhelmed by the event so they rushed to Jesus shouting “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” v38.
In other words (my own) “how could you sleep when we are downing? Don’t you see, feel, sense, etc that we are going to die?”
Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we thought “God! where are you? Don’t You see that we are going to drown?”
But in the midst of this, Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”v40.
- The Lesson
God has promised you a future; that is your vision, dream, aspiration, etc. He placed them in you and equipped you for the task. It looks great at the start and you are excited about it. However, what you have no knowledge about is the kind of storm that awaits you.
The course of life isn’t straight. There are curves, valleys, hills, potholes, thunderstorms, turbulence, high currents, waves, tides, etc along the course. In effect, whichever way or form your course might be, there are obstacles or limitations that would appear to make you feel that your mission is impossible.
One lesson you can learn from the passage is that Jesus Christ didn’t quit. He woke up, and as calm as you could imagine, rebuked the storm and continued the journey.
The storm you see today is waiting for the demonstration of your Faith to cease. Many times we wait for God to (sort of) appear in the flesh and take us through when in reality God is rather waiting for us to use the tools He has given to us already. His angels are waiting for us to command them to work.
From the passage, while the disciples thought Jesus has got the solution for the storm, Jesus on the other hand thought they could have handled it. Thus “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Could it be that you are the reason why your storms keep staring at (or threatening) you daily? because you are waiting for God? Well, God is with you. He is the reason why you haven’t drowned yet. He is waiting for you to use your Faith.
You may ask; how do I use my Faith?
What can you do now about the situation? Can you fast and pray? can you place the first phone call? can you make the first visit? can you obey the constant voice you are hearing? can you take the first step moving forward? These are acts of Faith. Can you give yourself one more try? Don’t be afraid to act because your miracle is in your obedience to His Word.
Uplifting Christ 