Devotional Messages

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE

Mark 4:37-40 – A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”  Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.  He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”  (NRSV)

I almost didn’t include the last verse in this selection.  “Have you still no faith” seems like such a harsh question, especially to those who have just been in a seriously frightening situation!  But then I noticed that it’s not the first possibly offensive question in this passage.  “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Really?  Obviously, the disciples were really scared.  In any other situation, they would not have questioned Jesus’ love and concern for them.  Or would they?

Is it despite the high level of drama or because of it that this story feels so familiar?  How easily we jump to the conclusion that God must be sleeping or just not really love us, when life has gotten hard!  “Do you not care?” we cry out, knowing that we’re not making sense, but unable to contain our anguish.  Sometimes when things are hard, we can’t believe God loves us because we feel unlovable.  But sometimes our fear turns into anger that we’re not being rescued, even if we know that’s not really how God usually works.

I wonder if Jesus’ question to the disciples can be a reminder that the whole point of faith is that it’s for the hard times.  When things are going great, it’s easy to feel like everyone loves us, even and especially God.  It’s when things are hard that it’s most important to remember how precious we are to God, especially if we’re feeling like nobody else loves us.  It’s when our lives really are in danger that we most need to hold onto our conviction that God cares for us, truly and deeply.

That’s why it’s so important live out our faith together.  Most of the time, we’re not all in a sinking boat at the same moment.  So when one of us is flailing about, wondering if God cares, the rest of us can chime in and remind them that, Yes, God absolutely cares; God loves you and wants only good for you.  We may not be able to still the wind and calm the seas, but we can bail out each other’s boats.  We can hold faith for one another, so that fear doesn’t overtake any of us.