The disciples are out in a boat on the sea and Jesus is sleeping in the stern. The storm has reached max force. The account says "there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up." We all know what happens next: the disciples go wake up Jesus, he comes out on the deck and says to the wind and the waves, "Hush, be still" and everything calms down.
Pretty cool, right?
But there's a verse right before that really cool part that tends to get skipped over. I think it's because we want to focus on what Jesus can do for us rather than reveal our doubting nature. It's the reason why Jesus next says to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
When the disciples went to wake up Jesus, the first thing they said to him was, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" What kind of question is that? Jesus was on the boat too. Why weren't they concerned with whether or not Jesus cared if his own life was in danger? I'm pretty sure it's because our sinful nature pushes us to only think about ourselves and what others can do for us.
We all encounter storms in life--some literal, but mostly figurative. Whether it's the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one, cancer, a rebellious child, a back-stabbing friend, we all struggle in this sin-filled life. What's your typical first response? Do you blame God? Do you question whether He really even cares about you? Do you have the same world view that most people have which says if God really loved people he wouldn't let bad things happen? Where in God's Word does He promise to never let anything bad happen to us? In case you have forgotten, this is a fallen world. Bad things are going to happen until Jesus comes back to make things right again.
The funny thing is that the implication of the disciples' question to Jesus is that they knew he was God and could save them from the storm. Yet their plea was not "save us!" but rather, "why don't you care about us?" Their doubt was not the divine nature of Jesus, but rather the loving-kindness of His character. Jesus would later bear the burden of the cross to save us from the ultimate storm, so please don't lose the irony of their first reaction. That same irony forms the foundation of our complete lack of faith. We have the benefit of knowing the history of Jesus dying for our sins, yet we still question whether God loves us or cares for us when times get tough.
I challenge you to examine your life and ask yourself whether you doubt God's caring nature just because life isn't going quite the way you want it to. Hopefully when you do that in the future, you'll remember the time Jesus calmed the storm and remember that He does love you and will take action when the time is right.
2 comments:
Great post, Ty! I never spent the time to really look at what they were questioning. You're exactly right that they were questioning his lovingkindness and not his capability. I get the feeling that they all felt they'd die, but knew Jesus would make it out since He is, afterall, the Son of God.
But they were questioning whether or not He CARED about them. So true! So often, our plea of "God, don't you know what I'm going through?" stems from a feeling like God doesn't care.
When we refocus on what we know to be true - that God knows all and is concerned most with His reputation and glory - we are forced to submit our feelings to Him and TRUST that He knows best. He knows how to bring Himself the most glory. He knows how to make me a better Christian. He knows best how to communicate His Gospel to the lost.
Trust and obey. For there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.
Oh man this is so true... I have never thought of this moment in that context. I have always thought of Jesus being upset at their doubting his ability, not his character.
Post a Comment