Just trust God…
Things will get better…
The Lord will use this for good…
How often do we say and hear these responses to calm an anxious mind? I know I am guilty of this.
But I don’t always want to hear that God is in control or cares for me, especially if I am going through a tough season and nothing makes sense. I must confess that the last thing I want to hear is something like: Everything will be fine; keep trusting.
Why do we keep getting the same messages, then?
Well, that is easy. We need to be reminded because we are weak. The Lord is in the business of reminding His people of who He is and what He has done for them.
We may get tired, but our Heavenly Father will never stop pursuing us and speaking His word of truth to our troubled hearts time after time.
Key notes
- You might think that your real giant is your anxiety, worry or fear. However, these are only results of unbelief. Whenever we go through windstorms in life just know that our real problem is not the storm itself but our sinful heart.
- Jesus isn’t just a friend who will listen and understand. He is our one and only Priest who had compassion on us and gave Himself as a ransom for us. He took all the suffering and pain of the world including your anxiety and fear, your broken past, your feelings of inadequacy, and your unbelief.
If God pursues us with the truth, why does it feel like He does not care?
Have you ever been tempted to think that God does not care about your situation? Are you constantly trying to figure things out in your way? If so, welcome to the club. This is what sinners do best.
Whenever we face difficulties, it is easy to believe that God does not care because His word does not match our reality. Our instant human reaction is to question and doubt. Anxiety and fear cripple. We know we are hopeless on our own but insist on fixing the situation ourselves.
Swimming in anxious thoughts instead of holding on to our faith brings guilt. This is the experience of every Christian, but very few of us are willing to confess it out loud.
The Law accuses our inability to trust the Lord and makes us believe we have to make up for our disbelief.
Well, what if I tell you that the prestigious 12 chosen by Jesus fell into this trap? The disciples challenged Jesus with the same question:“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38).
A great windstorm and a sleepy Jesus
After a very long day of Jesus teaching to the crowd, the Gospel of Mark recounts an evening when Jesus and His disciples retrieved on a boat:
“He said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion” (4:36-38).
Whenever I read this story and I am tempted to judge the disciples, I remember my fear of water. I don´t know how to swim and sailing on a boat makes me uneasy. So yes, a dark evening, a big storm, and a sinking boat would be my absolute nightmare.
Now let´s add the fact that the disciples might die and while all this is happening Jesus is asleep on a cushion. Naturally, these guys have to do something. Let´s keep reading:
“And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ´Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? ´” (4:36-40).
Why would Jesus sleep in the middle of my windstorm? Does He actually care?
These are the questions the enemy uses to trick us and lead us into doubt.
Since the very beginning, with Adam and Eve, the serpent´s strategy is to make humans doubt God´s word. “He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). Today, his strategy is no different.
You might think that your real giant is your anxiety, worry or fear. However, these are only results of unbelief. Whenever we go through windstorms in life just know that our real problem is not the storm itself but our sinful heart. This is what we are fighting against.
Our feelings are deceiving. Our ways are imperfect. And our minds too small to comprehend Jesus´s steadfast love for us.
It may seem all you get is a sleepy Jesus who does not see your affliction. However, let me remind you that Jesus is on the boat with you and He has the power to speak to the wind and calm the storm.
What if Jesus does not calm the storm? Will I perish?
Jesus calming the storm and bringing peace seems like the most impressive event in Mark´s account. However, this is not the biggest takeaway of the story.
If you consider the greatest thing Jesus can do for you is calm your temporary storm, think again.
In Christ, we are not promised a perfect life free of affliction. He may not give you what you want. Those intrusive thoughts may come back. You may have to face that same fear over and over. Anxiety and worry will knock on your door. So, does this mean we will perish?
By any means…
The disciples asked Jesus if he did not care that they would perish. What the disciples did not understand at the time is that Jesus cared so much to the point of death. The biggest lesson here is that Jesus willingly faced the greatest windstorm and perished on our behalf so that we would not have to face condemnation.
Jesus´s death and resurrection are for you. Jesus did not choose the easy way. He could have given a temporary solution to earthly problems but His purpose wasn´t to make people happy. Instead, Jesus dealt with the root of all our problems: sin. He did what we couldn´t so that we would not despair.
Peter, the man who stumble many times to the point of denying Jesus is the same man who wrote: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1Peter 5:6-7).
The Lord has the power to rebuke whatever windstorm comes at you, but it is faith in what He accomplished on the cross for you that gives you the victory over any circumstance.
Ask a man of suffering
If you are tempted to think that Jesus does not care about you or your situation, meditate in these words. The prophet Isaiah described Jesus as a man of suffering:
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely, he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed. (53:3-5)
Jesus isn’t just a friend who will listen and understand. He is our one and only Priest who had compassion on us and gave Himself as a ransom for us. He took all the suffering and pain of the world including your anxiety and fear, your broken past, your feelings of inadequacy, and your unbelief.
He never doubted and perfectly obeyed the Law on our behalf. He became the transgressor so that we could freely enjoy the gift of salvation.
In times of trouble, you may not want to come to Jesus, but His Gospel will get to you to produce faith. Rest in Christ’s grace and forgiveness.
No matter how many times you have listened to the message of the Gospel, come back to it. Even if you think you finally get it, come back to it.
Go to the man of suffering who took all the punishment for your peace.
My Prayer for You
“Dear Father, I thank you that you sent your only Son to die for us. Thank you for the salvation that we now find in Christ. I pray for the woman battling with anxious thoughts. May your Spirit comfort her and guide her to the freedom found in Jesus. Remind her that she is not alone and that you care for her deeply. In your Name I pray. Amen”.
For Reflection
Read Psalm 46:1-3.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
When life feels out of control, how do you typically respond? How might this passage invite you to rest in God’s presence even in the middle of anxiety?
Leave a Reply