As I look back at my journey as a Christian, there are many moments where I experienced the good stuffs of the Christian life. It just reminds me of all the good things that are being provided for by the Shepherd as mentioned in Psalms 23... But there are also the bad days, the trials; just like the valleys and the shadows mentioned by the Psalmist. I really did not enjoy those, but they are just there… I don’t know why God has to allow them to be in my life.
Today I would like to speak especially to those among us who has answer the call of God on our lives. Sometimes we walk with the Lord in our life journey and we experienced some trying times and we simply do not understand why they must happen to us.
Since we are familiar with the story as told by Mark, I will go straight into the observations that I made. Here there are three observations concerning the incident that happened that night.
Observation # 1:
Mark 6:45
Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
Jesus told the disciples to go ahead to cross the lake - they simply obeyed. And they were faced with the terrible wind working against them. Did Jesus know that the wind was coming? Why did he send them even though he knew the fearsome wind was coming? I don’t know. Or maybe it is meant to test their faith. Maybe the wind is demonic and the devil wanted to stop them or destroy them. The bible is silent about these. But I think it’s probably both. But the fact remains is- that the disciples were obedient, and yet the trouble came, the wind and the wave came. Have you ever ask why- is it that you are faced with some insurmountable problems when you want to do God’s will? Isn’t it supposed to be smooth sailing when you are walking in the centre of his will? The story just reminds us that it is possible to experience resistance and difficulties while serving God and walking in his will. If you are experiencing that, do not doubt your calling or whether you are in the will of God.
I would like to tell a story of a little boy who watched his mother working at a tapestry. Since he was not very tall he could not see the picture that the mother was making …
All he could see was a mess of colourful threads of various colours: yellow, red, blue, green, gold, grey and black. It did not make sense to him from below. He kept on asking his mother to see the picture but the mother just tell him, “ My son, be patient, I will let you see it when I have finished.” Finally after quite some time when the tapestry was finished, the boy could finally see that it was the face of Jesus.
So it was in our life, there are the happy times, the good and prosperous time, the victories and the successes, as represented by the happy and beautiful colours. But there are also the bad and trying times, sad times, failures and fears that marred our days as symbolised by the dark and gloomy colours in the tapestry. Nonetheless all the colours are needed to complete the picture. So it is, God uses everything in our lives, the good and bad, the bright and the gloomy in order to complete the picture of His Son Jesus in the tapestry of our lives.
Observation # 2:
Mark 6:48
He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.
What do the disciples do when the terrible wind came, they were straining at the oars with their strength. And wind grew stronger and they use all their might to row harder still. I would like to imagine the Gospel writer Mark putting an additional verse to make the disciples appear in a better light. It will go something like that: “And the wind was too strong for the disciples and so they prayed and cried out to Jesus. Suddenly Jesus appeared and save them.”
No, my Bible didn’t say that. All it says is that the disciples were depending on their strength to solve their problems. Mind you these are no ordinary blokes. These are the future apostles, leaders, and pastors of the early church. What happens then is the same today. When you and I get busier and our datelines draw closer, and ministries become more demanding; what do we do… we strain at the oars with all our strength.
Normally the first thing to suffer is our personal devotion and prayer life. It is not surprising; if it can happen to the disciples it can happen to you and me. But see what happens next.
Since they were not praying so they were not expecting. When Jesus appeared he almost passed them by. They also lacked the spiritual discernment or sensitivity to know that it is the Lord when he actually appeared.
How many times in the church and in our lives when Holy Spirit is doing something new and we think it is the devil. The Jewish leaders say that Jesus casts out the demons by the power of the devil. One of the saddest verses in the Bible is here, not only the disciples themselves didn’t recognise Jesus but they reckon that he was a ghost.
The lack of prayer in our lives can reduce our spiritual discernment and sensitivity to the Lord.
Observation # 3:
Mark 6:50 immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. don’t be afraid."
The first thing Jesus spoke to the disciples was “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” These words of Jesus are so amazing - they can bring such peace and calm to the storm of our lives. Jesus wants to refocus our attention away from the hugeness of our problems, and back to himself. He says: “ It is I”, “ Do not be afraid”.
The disciples were so overwhelmed by their problems, by the hugeness of the waves and the fierceness of the wind- that they have taken their eyes away from the Lord. He who sent them would be there for them. At that moment they had forgotten about who was the Lord. I meant, they had just come from a revival meeting and the Lord did mighty miracle there. They saw how Jesus multiply the five loaves and two fishes to feed five thousand men, not counting the women and children. For the bible says that, they had not understood about miracle of the loaves because their hearts were hardened. In their unbelief, they were not able to perceive the spiritual dimension of who Jesus really was. He is the Lord of Creation, He is Lord of all, and He is in control - nothing can happen to you without His knowledge. He is in charge of the wind and waves of your life. (cf. Jer 32:27 "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? )
These words of Jesus means really so much to me. In 1999, I quitted my job and responded to my full-time calling. Only just a few months in ministry and already I had taken a lot of beatings. It came in all directions and different ways and from all sorts of people I thought should have been supporting and encouraging me. I will not go into the details of it.
All I remember it was one of the most depressing period of my life. One day, I was out doing errands and after I parked my car and I was suddenly so overwhelmed by emotions and I started to cry. I poured out all the pain in my heart to the Lord. I can’t remember how long I was there, nor do I know whether anybody had seen me- if they had I wouldn’t know because my eyes were so covered with tears. My mind had so much confusion about why these things were happening to me. I didn’t know it was going to get this tough since I was walking in the centre of God’s will. I had many questions in my mind about why this and that.
And then it was as if God heard my complains and questions; and he gave me the reply. I heard clearly in my heart these three words: ‘It is I’. All of a sudden all of my questions and confusions were answered in one simple statement. And everything that didn’t make sense earlier suddenly took on a new meaning. God said that His hands in everything and that he was in control of everything. I suddenly experienced an unexplainable peace. I needed not be afraid because the Lord was here and he said “It is I, do not be afraid”. I began to let go and trusted him because he was using all these things to break and mould me into a vessel he could use.
In closing, I would like to read a poem about a person who has learnt how to follow the Lord and also trust in Him throughout the journey; it is entitled
As He Wills.
As He Wills by Katie Hall
As He wills, my steps shall follow,
As He leads, I’ll take the way;
Murmur not, my heart, nor falter,
Linger not, my feet, nor stay. …
As He wills - it may mean sorrow;
But His will is always best;
There the soul has calm assurance,
And the heart has sweetest rest.
As He wills - there may be shadows
In the path He marks for me,
But the sunshine of His presence
Cheers me though I cannot see.
Though I cannot understand it,
Why He thus has planned my way,
Yet I know all things are working
For my good, each passing day.
Soon the clouds will break and scatter
And the sun comes beaming through,
Lighting up my soul with glory
As I see His face anew.
Oh, the joy of trusting Jesus,
Trusting where we cannot trace;
Leaning hard upon His promise,
Proving His sufficient grace, …
Let us emulate the type of faith that Joseph has in God. In the story of Joseph, (in Genesis 45:4-7) when the plan of God finally unfolded; he was able to say to his brothers, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. … But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
Conclusion:
Brothers and sisters, let us be encouraged to walk our journey of faith. As we response to God and walk in obedience, there may be challenges and trials, but we can be assured that God is still in control. And to those of us who are struggling to believe; let’s hear Jesus’ words to his disciples in the midst of their struggle. These same words still speak to us now: “Take courage, It is I, do not be afraid.” (Mark 6:50)
