A Sleeping Savior?

Have you been in a situation that seem so terrible that when you looked around at all the surrounding circumstances, you truly believed that all was lost? I know I have …and if I am completely honest, it has probably happened more than once. Even though I know that my God is big enough to handle anything that comes my way,  I don't always act like I truly believe that promise.

The same could be said for the disciples of Jesus when we read Mark 4:35-40 which says, " That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”  Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?”

 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

I am sure that afternoon, as the disciples stood along the shores, weary and frazzled from a day of dealing with the multitudes that had engulfed Jesus, they were ready to "kick-back" and take it easy…but Jesus asked them to take him to the other side, a trip they had made countless times before…so off they went into what eventually became a raging storm with crashing waves that threatened to capsize their small fishing vessel. Their first thought…where is the Master in the midst of this turmoil, for surely they were about to perish…but Jesus was doing what he needed to do…he was resting in a deep sleep in the stern of the boat. How could anyone sleep in such peril? How could Jesus not be consumed with worry and fear?

Simply put…He was trusting in the Father! He was going to a placed that offered rest and refreshment from his busy life; a place where He could commune with His Heavenly Father and once again be rejuvenated to deal with those who so desperately needed a Savior…and so the Savior slept! Not because he was oblivious to all that was around him, but because he knew who was in control…and He knew that His Father would not let anything happen to him that was not in the will of the Father…he knew the simple truth…"GOD WILL NOT GUIDE WHERE HE DOES NOT PROVIDE!'

And so he rose, rebuked the seas and the howling wind and then issued this simple question to that band of men that He had called to follow him…"Where is YOUR faith?"

He still raises that question to each of us as the waves of circumstance and bad news wash over our lives…as the howling winds of misfortune and disappointment blow us off course and threaten to capsize our lives…"WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?"

If you have placed your faith in Jesus, he will once again, each and every time, speak those words of strength and compassion and say, "Quiet, Be still!"…therefore,  you can trust in Him that He will see you to the other side,  just as he did for the disciples…after all, He has made that trip before and He commands all that may overwhelm us to subside as God leads us to a place of rest and rejuvenation in service to our sleeping Savior.

Stepping into the boat…ready for the journey to the other side,

WPQ