When everything goes wrong (Mike MacIntosh) Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. Mark 7:47-48 Here we see professional fishermen who have lived near the sea their entire lives, yet cannot seem to manage their boat during the storm. Not only was the sea raging, but Mark adds that the disciples were visibly straining at rowing. Im no expert at rowing, but I was on the rowing team in college for one year. The lifeblood of successful rowing is teamwork. If one rower is out of sync with another, the outcome is disastrous. If you were paddling on one stroke and your teammates were on another stroke, youd not be on the team very long! This is exactly what happened to the disciples when the storm hit: they were all doing their own thing, not working together. And at times, this is what happens to us when trials come. We get frustrated when pressures surface. We lash out at people and get defensive when things dont go our way. Or we go through a messy divorce or bankruptcy, and we feel like failures. When things arent going right, so often we lose our discernment of right and wrong, and we just react. The disciples were reacting to the storm instead of doing what they knew was correct. But through any circumstance, Jesus calls us to row together. You need to be sure to keep in close fellowship with other believers so you can row together through lifes storms. As humans, were going to make mistakes. Thats why we need to help each other, build each other up in the faith, and sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). And notice that even though the disciples made mistakes, Jesus was there to help them. When the Lord saw the disciples paddling contrary to the wind, contrary to the sea, and contrary to each other, He went after them. So remember this the next time the wind starts howling in your life. When you start going in circles in the middle of the sea, and you dont feel like youre getting anywhere, Jesus is coming after you! He is there for you.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 16:36:06 +0000
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