The other day I was reading in Mark 4, verses 35-41 respectively, which say:
"35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” "
We all know that things happen. Nothing will ever go exactly as it should, and sometimes, the storm might get too rough. In my life, it's been weird, because as much as being in New York allowed me to see God work wonderfully in my life, I couldn't go ignoring that sometimes it did get hard, and that I did become anxious, and that things were going on back home that were seriously trying. My church here in North Carolina is now on the rebound from what had been the most trying and hardest 5 months in the life of our church, and with so many things and people changing and turning against you, you wonder, how do I grace this storm? What do I do? When should I move? What should I even do? and a million other questions. And then this scripture stumbles upon me in my devotionals. Some of the things that I took away from it were:
1. Verse 35 begins with Jesus telling his disciples to go to other side. Symbolic of what a storm in life will do and where it will take you? I think so, perhaps. The disciples here were merely following a command from the master, and they probably thought it was gonna be another day, another boat ride with the 12 homies. But oh look, a storm. Unexpected? Absolutely. Filled with purpose? Probably more than they know.
2. They left the crowds behind- sometimes the storms of life will do this to us. It may pull us away from some people, they may isolate us for a while, but again...if the Master says to follow him to the other side....you don't know how hard the journey will be. Pack only the necessaries. This is hard to think about since sometimes we don't realize that some people that we may love may also be the ones dragging us down. And I don't really know where I was going with that so moving on...
3.I also love how verse 36 points out that there were other boats in the water at the time of this storm. A reminder that we aren't alone when braving mad angry waves.
4. From what I can see...this storm wasn't like, ah look some rain, an umbrella will do. No, it says that the waves rushed INto the boat- this could've sunk the boat, etc. And what does Jesus do? HE TAKES A NAP. He's just chilling. (Which I think is pretty boss.) Anyways, meanwhile all the disciples are all hands on deck (lol, punny) trying to save the boat from the storm, and the Master is just sleeping. What if we were like that in the storms? To have enough trust in our Heavenly Father that we can just sleep even when it would make sense to move and do something about it? If anything, in my life I've learned that God likes to work and come through in the most nonsensical of ways, because he's cool like that.
5. The disciples ask Jesus if he cares about the current situation- I have heard people say this a million times. People will be like, oh sure, Jesus is good and all, but I don't think he really cares that much about my situation. Well...he does. We just have to know that if we let HIM be in control of OUR storm and over every area of our lives...sooner or later, in the nick of time, He will rise and with his sovereign hand he will calm the storm, just like he ordered the storm to cease in the passage. THIS IS OUR GOD. It's all a matter of trusting Him even when it would make sense not to. Who's in control of your storm today?
6. He then tells his disciples, dude, why you scurred? Do you not know who I am and what I am capable of and that I ALWAYS for you, never against you, and that I am who I am, God so sovereign? If anything, if God allows a storm in our life its probably to 1) refine, purify, and rebuild us and to 2) remind us of how little faith we are, and that we need to trust Him more and more every day. We can't ever have too much faith...
7. In the end, we will win, and Jesus ALWAYS wins. I love how in verse 41 the disciples were like, who is this??? Like, if I were them too, I would be wondering and just sit in awe of this man who had so much power that He could calm the storm. Which brings me to this: if you let God be in control of your storm/circumstance, He will always get the glory. It may be painful at times, but your testimonies will always bring glory to Him and will serve as a comfort to others. This is something that I've definitely seen in my life.
I don't know why, but I really felt like I needed to write this (for personal purposes, mainly). In my life I am now beginning to see what things look like on the other side- He always has better things if we let Him guide us for better or worse. I mean sure, currently, for example, my family is going through a terribly trying period financially. We is BROKE. Like, within the last five years we've sold our house, lost a car or two, sold a company, etc. But we're learning to not fret. He knows our needs, and He has always taken care of anything- why is this time any different? (Kinda like Job...when God wanted to purify him, He let the enemy mess with his posessions...but never his soul. This is not to say that we are Job or anything either, to be clear.) And with our church? Sure, at first it hurt to lose some of the people we valued for years, but the church I came back to when I came home this summer has a much lighter spirit and is so ready to take on this city- it feels so right now. As if God were saying....this is what needed to happen so we would all be on the same page and finally move forward. I can't get over how amazing the atmosphere is in my church now. God is on the brink of something HUGE- we can all feel it. Revival is within our reach and I am so excited for them. But it took a terrible 5 months of confusion and painful separations to get there. Anyways.
I've made a point from now on to let Him be in control of my storms and everything else. We can pray for relief from them all we want, but even if He doesn't come through- He is still God. And His unfailing love for me doesn't and will never change, even when it doesn't make sense.
His grace is sufficient.
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