O God of our salvation. The hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the One who by His strength established the mountains, being girded with might; Who stills the roaring seas, the roaring of the waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at Your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy! (Verses 5b-8)
Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side...And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea and He was alone on the land. And He saw they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. Between 3 AM and 6 AM He came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they all saw Him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw Him and were terrified..."Take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid." And He got into the boat with them and the winds ceased. Mark 6
Anything rocked your boat lately? Having trouble making headway? A little tumult to calm? I love this picture of Jesus watching those who belong to Him struggling to move forward against the strength of the gale. Jesus had sent the disciples ahead hours before while He dismissed the crowds. Their boat should've docked in Bethsaida long before three o'clock in the morning. Off schedule and churning in a rocky sea, the men pushed forward on their own strength. Doing what was before them. Their job. Get to the other side of the lake and meet Jesus there. They'd just watched Jesus feed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two little fish. It had been a long day for all of them. The fishermen were as tired as we would be if we'd had a very long day at work then had to sail all night against a headwind.
I think it's telling that the disciples had just witnessed a massive miracle. The multiplication of food from enough for one person to plenty and then some for over five thousand men, women and children. Provision. Given what we need when we need it. Daily bread. Manna, maybe. Still a "what is it" moment for God's people. The Bread of Life giving bread for life. It's what He does. The way He rolls. Jesus could've done nothing less because He saw their need. Thrilled and confused, the disciples were probably talking about the miracle when they began the journey in the boat late in the afternoon. But as the wind picked up and the waves beat against the vessel, slapping them in the face with their spewing, work was all they could think about. Sweating and worried, the gale engulfed them and they forgot about bread and fish.
Unaccustomed to the fact that Christ is God in the flesh, His unexpected appearance on the waves beside them scared them to death! "All we need now is a ghost!"
Jesus was intending to pass by them. To look on, maybe? Make sure they were unharmed? But they freaked out. Could only make out in the darkness a shape moving toward them walking on top of the waves. No judgment here for the disciples. I would've been freaked out, too. But God can do that sort of thing. And He was near.
"Don't be afraid. It's me, guys!" Jesus stepped into the boat and the wind died down.
Pretty awesome! Jesus stilled not only the wind and waves, but also the tumult of the struggle. But not before He let his disciples work it through a bit. The miracle of multiplied food and His saving them once before in a storm hadn't registered with them. Always faith versus fear. Never truly understanding what it all meant. Jesus is the God of the storm....and the calm. Fear has no place in love. Fear is the opposite of faith. If Jesus is Lord over nature, He is Lord of all. The One Who spoke the universe and our earth into being can walk on its waters and provide for its creatures. He was going to pass them by because they still didn't get it. They were utterly astounded that the wind ceased. Really? They had just witnessed a huge miracle. The right reaction? Jesus will take care of this. And He did. But not without a certain sadness that their hearts didn't know Who He is. This worrying thing. Being scared even though He has shown us a million times that He is faithful....even in the headwind.
Jesus is our hope. He stills the tumult of the people and calms the raging seas. Why? So that all people everywhere will be in awe of Him, and so that we will shout for joy at the beginning and the end of every day.
Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side...And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea and He was alone on the land. And He saw they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. Between 3 AM and 6 AM He came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they all saw Him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw Him and were terrified..."Take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid." And He got into the boat with them and the winds ceased. Mark 6
Anything rocked your boat lately? Having trouble making headway? A little tumult to calm? I love this picture of Jesus watching those who belong to Him struggling to move forward against the strength of the gale. Jesus had sent the disciples ahead hours before while He dismissed the crowds. Their boat should've docked in Bethsaida long before three o'clock in the morning. Off schedule and churning in a rocky sea, the men pushed forward on their own strength. Doing what was before them. Their job. Get to the other side of the lake and meet Jesus there. They'd just watched Jesus feed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two little fish. It had been a long day for all of them. The fishermen were as tired as we would be if we'd had a very long day at work then had to sail all night against a headwind.
I think it's telling that the disciples had just witnessed a massive miracle. The multiplication of food from enough for one person to plenty and then some for over five thousand men, women and children. Provision. Given what we need when we need it. Daily bread. Manna, maybe. Still a "what is it" moment for God's people. The Bread of Life giving bread for life. It's what He does. The way He rolls. Jesus could've done nothing less because He saw their need. Thrilled and confused, the disciples were probably talking about the miracle when they began the journey in the boat late in the afternoon. But as the wind picked up and the waves beat against the vessel, slapping them in the face with their spewing, work was all they could think about. Sweating and worried, the gale engulfed them and they forgot about bread and fish.
Unaccustomed to the fact that Christ is God in the flesh, His unexpected appearance on the waves beside them scared them to death! "All we need now is a ghost!"
Jesus was intending to pass by them. To look on, maybe? Make sure they were unharmed? But they freaked out. Could only make out in the darkness a shape moving toward them walking on top of the waves. No judgment here for the disciples. I would've been freaked out, too. But God can do that sort of thing. And He was near.
"Don't be afraid. It's me, guys!" Jesus stepped into the boat and the wind died down.
Pretty awesome! Jesus stilled not only the wind and waves, but also the tumult of the struggle. But not before He let his disciples work it through a bit. The miracle of multiplied food and His saving them once before in a storm hadn't registered with them. Always faith versus fear. Never truly understanding what it all meant. Jesus is the God of the storm....and the calm. Fear has no place in love. Fear is the opposite of faith. If Jesus is Lord over nature, He is Lord of all. The One Who spoke the universe and our earth into being can walk on its waters and provide for its creatures. He was going to pass them by because they still didn't get it. They were utterly astounded that the wind ceased. Really? They had just witnessed a huge miracle. The right reaction? Jesus will take care of this. And He did. But not without a certain sadness that their hearts didn't know Who He is. This worrying thing. Being scared even though He has shown us a million times that He is faithful....even in the headwind.
Jesus is our hope. He stills the tumult of the people and calms the raging seas. Why? So that all people everywhere will be in awe of Him, and so that we will shout for joy at the beginning and the end of every day.
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