Reading Mark 4:35-41 this morning I was really struck by the words beginning at verse 38: ‘But He was in the stern..’ Yeshua had said to His disciples that they would cross over to the other side of the sea and He was with them in the same boat. Yeshua was asleep in the stern when the boat ran into a huge storm, where, fearing for their lives and in a state of panic the disciples awoke Yeshua, warning of what they feared was certain peril. Lord Yeshua awoke, rebuked the storm so that it became still and said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith” (verse 40). As I read those words it shone a bright light, as it were, back upon the words, ‘But He was in the stern.’
Yes, there was a great storm and though if I had been in their shoes I wouldn’t have acted any different to the disciples, from the comfort of the present vantage point I was enabled to see that because Yeshua was in there with them they had no need to fear. This reminded me of the Scripture at Hebrews 13:5-6:
‘For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.
So we may boldly say:
“The LORD is my helper;
I will not fear
What can man do to me?”
Moreover, I was reminded afresh that the confident expectation that all would be well, despite the vicious storm, was in the word of God Himself – what God has said! Lord Yeshua Himself had said to the disciples that they would get to the other side – note His word at verse 35: “Let us cross over to the other side.” It was an ever timely and personal refreshing in my mind of how key it is to know/read/understand/hear correctly, exactly what God has said – for it will come to pass. Isaiah 55:10-11, for example, reminds of us of this, saying:
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
God Himself has said He will never leave us – whatever we are going through or will go through Yeshua is with us always. He is Immanuel – God with us. Let’s keep our eyes on Lord Yeshua and stay close to Him and trust in God’s word to us.
God bless you.
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