A Perfect Storm
Jesus tells the disciples to get in the boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and immediately there is a storm. Jesus has put the disciples there. He made them get into the boat, this was the perfect will of God but they had to face the perfect storm. Jesus is praying for them. Jesus fully God and fully man, he is a go between, praying that their faith does not fail because he knew fear causes faith to fail. Not only are they in a storm the winds are contrary to the direction Jesus has sent them. Jesus see their fear, it is in the middle of the night in a storm he has 20/20 vision, 3 or 4 miles out between 3 and 6 am. Jesus comes to them at their moment of fear walking on the sea. Wait wasn’t the water the problem? Jesus it seems came to them walking on their problem, Jesus let the problem be the pathway to get to them. Jesus allows fearful situations so that he can come to us in a way that he has never come to us before. Simon Peter says can I join you walking on the circumstances. I want to experience more, before you fix it let me join you on it. Most of our prayers are “get me out of the problem.” Peter was okay as long as he was looking at Jesus but the moment the circumstances take over he experiences fear. When you change your focus you change your stability. Jesus says you of little faith, he did not say you of no faith. Faith involves movement Peter used faith to get started but he didn’t use it to keep going. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, the starter and completer. The disciples in Mark 6 has just experienced the feeding of the 5,000, they had not learned the lesson of loaves and fish. It had been an impossible situation but Jesus gave thanks for not enough. They saw Jesus do the impossible and immediately he sent them out across the sea. They did not learn the lesson. Invite someone to take a closer look at Christ (who is with us in the storms of life) and his church.
