Thought for the Day – Saturday 20th June
‘On that day, when evening had
come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving
the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other
boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the
boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern,
asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you
not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said
to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead
calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no
faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who
then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”’(Mark 4: 35-41)
Jesus has had a busy day and here we see him seeking some peace, some
time away from the crowds, time to rest, to pray, to reconnect with his Father
in heaven and I suppose we could say in all of this to recharge his batteries
for the days and crowds which lie ahead. In the trusted hands of his once
fishermen disciples he feels comfortable in their presence, confident in their
skills and so feels at peace within himself about going to sleep in the
boat.
However, all does not to go to plan. There is a sudden windstorm on
this lake well-known for its sudden windstorms and while Jesus has faith in the
disciples to keep him safe it appears as their boat is swamped by the waves
created by the storm that they lose faith in Jesus to keep them safe.
Of course, Jesus calms the waves, calms the storm and calms the fears
of his disciples.
What a ‘storm’ we are in at the present time!
Our homes have become like the stern of that boat for Jesus, a place of
rest, a place of calm, a place of safety away from the ‘storm’ – a place where
we are comfortable and confident.
However, we do have to go back out into the world at some point, back
out into our present ‘storm’ of coronavirus and I know that will be scary for
us and make us fearful – I cannot deny I myself, after twelve weeks indoors, am
fearful, a little lacking in confidence and, if truth be told, a little scared each
time I have to cross the door now and make my way out to be among people again.
Yet, this story is a timely reminder for us that we have someone who
will calm those fears, who will help us to be more confident, who can bring
peace to our troubles minds and souls – we just have to maintain our trust in
him and have faith that he will see us through this particular ‘storm’ of
trying to re-enter the world and be confident that he will calm it for us
because he loves us and cares for us.
Personally, I find praying as I leave the house and putting everything
in his hands to be calming – I will admit it does not always take away all the
fears I have but that calming does help to make me feel more comfortable about
being away from my ‘comfort zone’ of home.
So hopefully that will work for you too, pray and receive a gentle
reminder that you are not alone in the ‘storm’, that Jesus can calm your fears – you just have to trust in him and
have faith.
Prayer
Loving Lord,
At home in the calm and in the storm, teach us to always look to you,
to trust and to have faith and be confident in your calming of our storms and
your loving care. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
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