Jesus had been teaching all day and He was exhausted! So exhausted that He told the disciples to push off and head across the Sea of Galilee. Let's pick up the whole story in Mark. It happens in 6 short verses. Mark 4:35-41 (New Living Translation)
Mark 4:35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
Mark 4:38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
Mark 4:39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Mark 4:41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
These people had seen Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons, turn water into wine...in short...they had seen Him do the impossible! But when the storm came up, their faith went down. THEY FORGOT HE WAS IN THE BOAT WITH THEM!!! (Have you?)
And then, when they did remember, they asked Him an almost insane question! Look back at verse 38..."Teacher...Don't you care if we drown?" Of course He cared! These guys were a vital part of His mission to save the world! They would be the ones spreading the message! (And so are YOU!)
And then Jesus woke up. He didn't ream them out. He didn't scold them. He simply rebuked the wind and the waves...He said "Be Still!" and they were! Then He asked them a question. It's the same question I believe He is asking us even now. "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Put another way, I think this is the question that we, as Christians, have to answer every day. See, I believe that things come along to help us realize that we don't have the control we would like to think that we have. The fact is, we never really have had control of anything... except our choices.
Life happens fast, and as a Christian we are constantly having to re-examine where we stand with Christ...and the question is always there. It's His way of re-focusing us. Of calling us back to the basics and helping us reassess where we truly stand in our walk with Him.
And now, in this time of crisis, it is even more important that we both face, and daily answer, the question that Christ puts before us. The question: Will you trust ME...even here?
Oh wait, Pastor Don...He could sleep because He was God. I mean...He KNEW He wasn't going down. He had all of the power on earth. I would beg to differ. If He were all about saving His own life, He never would have gone to the cross. It wasn't death He was thinking about.
In fact, one of my favorite Christian authors, Ellen White, in her book The Desire of Ages, paints the scene a little better for us.
When Jesus was awakened to meet the storm, He was in perfect peace. There was no trace of fear in word or look, for no fear was in His heart. But He rested not in the possession of almighty power. It was not as the “Master of earth and sea and sky” that He reposed in quiet. That power He had laid down, and He says, “I can of Mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30. He trusted in the Father’s might. It was in faith—faith in God’s love and care—that Jesus rested, and the power of that word which stilled the storm was the power of God. {DA 336.1}
So it isn't in our own power that we are expected to meet this thing. It is in faith--faith in God's love and care--that we can rest as well. And we can look up as we hear His question, "Will you trust Me even here?" And though our answer may at first be feeble, we can choose, by faith to answer yes. And we can continue to answer yes until every time it is asked of us, whether in good times or in crisis, we can respond with a resounding yes. That's what is called the Faith Walk.
By faith I say YES...and God leads me one more step. Then asks again, "Will you trust Me even here?" And I choose, again, to say YES! And He leads me another step. I don't have to know every step from beginning to end. If I hold on by faith, He will continue to walk me, with both peace and confidence, through whatever the world or the devil may throw at me.
Will it be trying? Yes! Faith destroying? It doesn't have to be! So hold on my friends and trust!
To hold on is not so much about bravery or courage, but a learned response from a long obedience in the same direction. It’s about being confident in the One who has called you.
· Hold on to your faith.
· Hold on to your care for one another
· Hold on to Jesus.
Every day Jesus asks you the same question: Will you trust Me even here? And your answer is?
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