Don't You Care?

 

 

Mark 4:35-41

 

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"*  41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

NKJV

 

Our relationship with God can sometimes be complicated.  Not on His side, of course, but on our side.  We have a hard time understanding His sovereignty.  We see Him as the One who  should protect us from life, shield us from pain, and deliver us quickly. And certainly He does all of these things.  But there are things that He permits to come our way.  And yes, sometimes from the human perspective, it appears that He is asleep in our boat.

I guess that is why I so often relate to these poor, wind-battered apostles.  They are walking with Jesus, they are following Him to the best of their ability.  They are in the same boat with Him and going in the same direction.  So how can He sleep when they are facing certain death?

These are the types of questions we will ponder until we reach the other side, and all answers are known.  When we are with Him in heaven, in His fullness, we will have no more confusion, no more unanswered questions.  So what do we do until then?

I am not sure that there was anything wrong with them waking Christ up to ask for his help.  But the way that they did it presents a problem, they asked, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"   We must never doubt that He loves us and cares about us more than we will ever know.  We can never forget what He endured at Calvary and why He did it.  His love allowed Him to die a sacrificial death for us, mere sinners.  So our question should instead be, "Jesus!  I need you!  I am in trouble!"  He wanted them- and us- to ask Him to meet their needs.  The fact that He was not presently acting, did not negate His love and providential care for them.  It was a faith-stretcher.  Nothing more.  As soon as they called on Him, albeit in a faithless manner, He took care of them.

What are you facing today?  What is causing you fear and  frustration?  Look  to Jesus.  He is  your  Source of help and strength.  When you cannot see His activity, when it seems He has forgotten you, do not give up!  Don't be like the disciples in this passage who lost all faith at the first obstacle.   Sometimes He just wants us to ask and keep on asking.

Dear Lord, help me today to be a person who clings to faith in hard times rather than falling into doubt.  I ask that you come on the scene today in the situation of ___ and protect me,  defend  me and calm me.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.