QT 11/27/2023 Mark 6:45-52, Walk the talk

Mark 6:45–52 (ESV) —

45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

 

NOTE: They had just seen a miracle of food multiplied, but they missed the "who" in the previous incident. Maybe they were too close to Jesus -- they recognized the teaching, the miracles, the power, his relationship to God the Father, but they missed the "who is this man." They did not know that they traveled around with the Son of God, and by nature, the God of the universe. He can do whatever he wants to do (according to the Father's will). There are multiple miracles here. One, is Jesus seeing them out in the middle of the sea in the midst of a storm. The second is Jesus walking upon the water with no difficult caused by the storm. The third is the immediate cessation of the storm upon Jesus stepping into the boat.

 

I really can't be too hard on the disciples. How many times have I experience God's work in my life and then I worry when the next event hits me? I do it too regularly. My wife said something profound yesterday in regard to one of those events, "this time I am going to do it right and believe that God is in charge." That is a good lesson for me. Struggles are opportunities to truly live by faith and not just talk the talk.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I see struggles as an opportunity to walk the talk?
2. Do I forget God every time a new crisis occurs?
3. Do I show my forgetfulness of God by excessive worry?

 

PRAYER: Father, You know what you are doing and you will do whatever it takes to get a hold of people. Help me to trust you and let go of my worries. I believe you are working for good. I pray that I would not give in to worry, but I would trust you.