Mark 4:35-41
“As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus 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?” When 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. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!””
“Why are you afraid?”. Seems like a rhetorical question. I wonder what the disciples' faces looked like after they heard Jesus ask that. “Well Jesus, could it be that we are stranded in this boat in the middle of a fierce storm?”
Personally, as someone who has been in the oceans and lakes on a small boat during a “fierce storm”, that storm no doubt, would be a very natural reason to be afraid and to wake up Jesus shouting.
Why then would Jesus ask such a wildly obvious question? Let’s progress through the events together….
Jesus asks them to get into a boat to cross a lake after a long day of ministry.
The disciples faithfully board the boat expecting to do what Jesus said they would do.
Jesus falls asleep, at which point the boat and disciples get caught in a “fierce storm”.
At this point of resistance, Jesus’s commands to cross the lake becomes a secondary priority, as the disciples frantically wake up Jesus to shout at Him, “why would you let this happen to us?”.
Which brings me back to my question about Jesus’s wildly obvious question, “Why are you afraid?”
It would have been obvious to everyone, including Jesus, that the cause for the fear the disciples were experiencing was the storm. Jesus asked the question not for an answer but rather to prove a point.
Oftentimes, as the disciples in this Scripture, we all are willing to follow Jesus up to a point. Typically, the point where we stop following Jesus is the point of resistance. It’s at the point of resistance where we decide the direction God was leading us is not where we really want to go. Let’s face it, we are human, when the following gets hard and begins to cost something we are afraid to lose, we no longer want to go in that direction any longer. Jesus knew they were afraid on account of the storm. He knew they were afraid of losing lives. What He was also, or maybe really asking, is why are you allowing this resistance to my call? Change your expectations for where I am leading you.
In fewer words, Jesus said, “Why are you afraid? If I said we were going to the other side of the lake why would you let this storm change what you expect?”.
If you are going to follow Jesus, you must be prepared for resistance. Resistance to the call is inevitable if you are going to go where He is leading you. Resistance obviously is a weapon from the enemy to discourage us, but also can be used as a tool if we refuse to quit and allow it to expose our false expectations. Like I said earlier, we are happy to follow Jesus as long as where He is leading us fits inside of our pre-decided box of expectations. As long as we can stay in control of the details, as long as we are not put into a situation that causes us discomfort, we are good to go... Truthfully, what we really want is to follow Jesus and receive His benefits while secretly maintaining godship over our own lives. It’s part of our fallen condition, we have to kill our desire to be our own God. Jesus knows this. So God Almighty, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, disciples us by calling us to follow Him through resistance. He does this so that He can reveal any false expectations we are holding onto to maintain that false sense of security in our wisdom. He knows that we are terrible at being our providers and resistance does a great job revealing that. So again, Jesus asks why are you afraid? Do you believe the storm is God? Do you believe you had a better plan and therefore are your own god? Or can you find peace in what I am doing in the midst of the storm….Resting in God’s will.
Yes, before Jesus takes authority over the wind and the waves, He demonstrates ultimate strength by being completely at peace and resting in the middle of the storm, because He knows He is in the center of God’s will. He only takes authority over the storm to help the disciples remember who He is.
So let's make this personal. You have been called by God to do something really cool and exciting. You begin following Him and obediently doing the work. Then, like being splashed with ice water you are un-expectantly hit with resistance to the call. You have a choice to make. Like the disciples you can quit and accuse God for leading you somewhere so painful. Or you can remind yourself who God is, put your focus on what He is doing, and continue following Him to where He said you were going as the resistance exposes and frees you from any false expectations. It is good practice when we encounter resistance, especially the type of resistance that makes us want to turn around, quit or accuse God's motives that we pause and ask ourselves this now familiar question. “Why are you afraid?”
What expectations are needed to let go?
Who do I believe is really God in this situation?
As we do this, we become more aware of what Jesus is doing in the midst of resistance and better prepared to emulate Him, as we move faithfully forward in the call He has for our lives.
Love,
Pastor John
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