God of Storms
"Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, He went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and He was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night He went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw Him and were terrified. Immediately He spoke to them and said, 'Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.' Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened." (Mark 6:45-52)
The disciples have not gotten into the boat of their own accord; they were made to do so by Jesus! Maybe you have had such experiences yourself, when one has to do things, yet does not see God in that situation. Our thinking is similar to that of the disciples: when Jesus appears, we think He is a ghost, a mere vision. To a certain extent, my capacity to see God in difficult situations is a scale of my faith. Am I able to see His face in difficulty, when He appears to be ghostlike, distant, when His love and power seem absent or unintelligible?
The story makes it clear that even although the disciples feel forced into the boat to experience a storm, and although their Master is about to just walk by them in their difficulty, Jesus knows all along what is going on with the disciples. He is directing everything around them, for He has power over waves and wind. Jesus is with His disciples not only on the calm shore, but also in the storm. In not only the calming of the storm, but in the causing of the storm. Can we recognize His hand in the storms of our lives? Do we trust Him that He is in the storms of our lives as well as in what seem like the calms?
[GEN, (c)2004]
The disciples have not gotten into the boat of their own accord; they were made to do so by Jesus! Maybe you have had such experiences yourself, when one has to do things, yet does not see God in that situation. Our thinking is similar to that of the disciples: when Jesus appears, we think He is a ghost, a mere vision. To a certain extent, my capacity to see God in difficult situations is a scale of my faith. Am I able to see His face in difficulty, when He appears to be ghostlike, distant, when His love and power seem absent or unintelligible?
The story makes it clear that even although the disciples feel forced into the boat to experience a storm, and although their Master is about to just walk by them in their difficulty, Jesus knows all along what is going on with the disciples. He is directing everything around them, for He has power over waves and wind. Jesus is with His disciples not only on the calm shore, but also in the storm. In not only the calming of the storm, but in the causing of the storm. Can we recognize His hand in the storms of our lives? Do we trust Him that He is in the storms of our lives as well as in what seem like the calms?
[GEN, (c)2004]
posted by CS at 7:35 PM
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