Expecting The Unexpected

Expecting the Unexpected

Mark 4:37-41, NLT

But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. 38Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” 39When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

Setting the Scene

With thorough integrity, Scripture always reveals its heroes’ painful flaws. The followers of Jesus were shining examples that the road to growth and learning runs smack through the middle of missteps, mistakes, and downright failures. We can learn plenty from the lives of the disciples—and then go on to make our own mistakes.

The disciples were right where Jesus had led them—and they were still overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control. Like those men, we know that storms come up suddenly and conditions can change in a heartbeat, yet we’re still surprised when troubles come. The real issue is: Are we determined to trust Jesus? As long as we trust Christ, we will find throughout life that each day will contain its share of opportunities to learn something new.

We may think that if we had been in the boat with those disciples and seen, in person, that amazing display of Christ’s power, we would never again hesitate to trust Jesus. But such assumptions simply reveal how poorly we appreciate our slowness to learn and remember. We know God has been faithful to us in the past, and yet we fail almost daily to fully trust him with our present or future. At the end of most days, Jesus could rightly ask us, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

We can look to the disciples as fellow strugglers with whom we can identify in our failures and take hope. Like them, as long as we trust in Jesus, we always have more room to grow.

Getting Personal

What have been some recent lessons through failure that Christ has allowed into your life?

How will you show Jesus today that you trust him?

Peter captured the crucial importance of trusting Jesus at a time when many followers were abandoning Christ. When Jesus asked the Twelve about their plans, Peter responded, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life” (John 6:68, NLT). It’s never about who we are; it’s always about the one who is with us.

Talking to God

Tell the Lord that you depend on his patience with you just as much as those first disciples did. Affirm your commitment to the only one who has the words that give eternal life.