Isaiah said, “Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace, in peace because they trust in you.” Are we at peace in the middle of a storm? (Isaiah 26:3). #Reflectonthis #DailyReflection [ Ссылка ]
 
Scripture Reading: Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale 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?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
 
Reflection
Jesus had chosen twelve men to be his disciples: to live with him, learn from him, and then to go out and teach others. They would even be given authority to heal the sick and cast out demons (see Matthew 10:1). The story described in today's passage is a lesson for them. By this time, the disciples have witnessed Jesus teaching large crowds of people in many places with great power. They have also seen Jesus heal several people with infirmities and work other great miracles, so they had some idea of what Jesus was capable of doing. What they still don't know is how far his capabilities stretched. And they were about to learn.

After teaching a large crowd, Jesus and the disciples set sail. There were other boats on the sea too. When they were away from the shore, a great storm arose, and the disciples panicked. The storm was a harsh one with strong winds, and the boat started filling with water.  While all this was happening, Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat. The disciples woke up Jesus, asking him if he wasn't concerned for their lives. Jesus got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still," And immediately, everything became calm.

He then turned to his disciples and asked them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" This is a question we need to ask ourselves every time we face a storm in our lives and begin to panic. What were the disciples doing as the storm built up? Since most of them were seasoned fishermen, they obviously thought they could handle the situation. But then the storm grew more violent. Their own resources didn't work, and they began to panic. They may have had reason to, but they forgot one vital element: the miracle worker Jesus was with them! Little wonder that he questioned their faith. What would he say about our faith?

The fear that we see described here would have also affected the sailors in the other boats on the sea. One wonders about their state of mind. They would have been positively maddened with fear with no hope of salvation. A few days ago, I read a post that said: "We are not all in the same boat; we are in the same storm." How true! For those of us who have Jesus in our boats, let us know that he is with us, even if he appears to be asleep, and be at peace. For those of us who don't, let us invite him in.

Because, as the song goes, with Jesus in our boat, we can smile in the storm. If we truly believe who he is and what he is capable of doing.

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