Mark 4:35~41
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
Have you ever had fear just totally consume you? Had a 'moment' when you were weak, and let it just totally take over? I have. This one time a few years ago when it had iced over really bad, Todd, the boys, and his best friend, Bob, drove to someone's house. They had been gone probably two hours, when I started trying to call them. I couldn't reach either Todd or Bob, and this awful feeling just completely overtook me. I was terrified that they had been in a wreck, and I was about to have a full blown panic attack. Todd finally called me ten minutes after that (thank goodness it was ten minutes for me to calm down!), and told me that they'd gotten out of the truck to let the boys play, and they'd left their phones inside the cab.
No matter if we fear something like that, or an illness (again in my case when Todd was sick with the tumor), I can hear God saying to me, "Why don't you have faith in Me yet? Haven't you learned by now that I work on My own time?" That's why this scripture spoke to me this morning. So many times, all it takes is a deep breath, and a hearfelt plea to God. He will restore the peace within you, no matter what it is.
In my morning devotion, the subject was calm in the storm. In the book of James, God's word tells us to embrace trials. If we change our thinking and start looking at trials as an opportunity to grow closer to God, what peace it would bring to us! In 2 Corinthians 4:17, the Apostle Paul says that "our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory." How beautiful is that? An absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. Beyond our wildest dreams. No matter how big our trial is at the time we're going through it, in the end, it is only momentary and not as big as it seems at the time. Once we look back, we'll probably have what I like to call an "ah ha moment". Oh, so that's why I went through that. I have had many of those in my life so far, and many more will follow, I'm sure.
That book that Oprah endorsed, The Power of Positive Thinking, just makes me cringe. In the book, from what I understand, the author tells readers that if you think positively you can accomplish whatever you desire. Well, God is the power of positive for us as Christians. It says in His word, that if we think on it, and ask Him for it, and believe that we will receive it, we will. It may not be exactly when we want, or even exactly what we ask for, but God will work everything out in a way that will glorify Him. That may require us to change our thinking, or to change the way that we pray. For instance, when Todd was going to take that CPAT test last Sunday, I did not once EVER ask for him to pass it. I prayed that if it was in God's will, that he would pass it, and that if it wasn't, then he wouldn't. Well, I feel like (we both do, actually) that God has something else in store for him.
I love how God works...I love to stand back after something has passed and see why we were allowed to go through something. It is so cool to be able to witness God's glory. I have a situation that I'm praying about right now, and that is what inspired me to write this today. I pray that this will be read by someone who needs encouragement. I also pray that God will speak to the hearts of all who are going through a storm right now. May their spiritual eyes be wide open.
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
Have you ever had fear just totally consume you? Had a 'moment' when you were weak, and let it just totally take over? I have. This one time a few years ago when it had iced over really bad, Todd, the boys, and his best friend, Bob, drove to someone's house. They had been gone probably two hours, when I started trying to call them. I couldn't reach either Todd or Bob, and this awful feeling just completely overtook me. I was terrified that they had been in a wreck, and I was about to have a full blown panic attack. Todd finally called me ten minutes after that (thank goodness it was ten minutes for me to calm down!), and told me that they'd gotten out of the truck to let the boys play, and they'd left their phones inside the cab.
No matter if we fear something like that, or an illness (again in my case when Todd was sick with the tumor), I can hear God saying to me, "Why don't you have faith in Me yet? Haven't you learned by now that I work on My own time?" That's why this scripture spoke to me this morning. So many times, all it takes is a deep breath, and a hearfelt plea to God. He will restore the peace within you, no matter what it is.
In my morning devotion, the subject was calm in the storm. In the book of James, God's word tells us to embrace trials. If we change our thinking and start looking at trials as an opportunity to grow closer to God, what peace it would bring to us! In 2 Corinthians 4:17, the Apostle Paul says that "our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory." How beautiful is that? An absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. Beyond our wildest dreams. No matter how big our trial is at the time we're going through it, in the end, it is only momentary and not as big as it seems at the time. Once we look back, we'll probably have what I like to call an "ah ha moment". Oh, so that's why I went through that. I have had many of those in my life so far, and many more will follow, I'm sure.
That book that Oprah endorsed, The Power of Positive Thinking, just makes me cringe. In the book, from what I understand, the author tells readers that if you think positively you can accomplish whatever you desire. Well, God is the power of positive for us as Christians. It says in His word, that if we think on it, and ask Him for it, and believe that we will receive it, we will. It may not be exactly when we want, or even exactly what we ask for, but God will work everything out in a way that will glorify Him. That may require us to change our thinking, or to change the way that we pray. For instance, when Todd was going to take that CPAT test last Sunday, I did not once EVER ask for him to pass it. I prayed that if it was in God's will, that he would pass it, and that if it wasn't, then he wouldn't. Well, I feel like (we both do, actually) that God has something else in store for him.
I love how God works...I love to stand back after something has passed and see why we were allowed to go through something. It is so cool to be able to witness God's glory. I have a situation that I'm praying about right now, and that is what inspired me to write this today. I pray that this will be read by someone who needs encouragement. I also pray that God will speak to the hearts of all who are going through a storm right now. May their spiritual eyes be wide open.
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