We may need to be persistent in prayer when the storms of life threaten to strike us down, remind God of his promises, keeping our situation before him. That must not mean, however, that we are fear-stricken, finding no peace! We need to find a resting place in God.
In this respect, the first image that springs to my mind is that of Jesus asleep on a pillow (Mark is the only one to record that detail) in the stern of the boat in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mk. 4,35-41)! Faced with the gravity of the situation – as perceived from the perspective of the disciples – Jesus was not greatly perturbed – in fact he was asleep! I can only surmise that he knew: ALL THINGS WILL BE WELL – BECAUSE MY FATHER WATCHES OVER US!(see Ps. 121) 😀
I do believe that that is where God would have us, when facing life’s darker moments.
And we can be assured that Jesus, the Son of God is with us in the boat out on the sea! He bids us have faith and not to fear. And at his mighty command he is able to calm the raging storm!😊
Why were the disciples filled with fear? Why did Jesus upbraid them for their lack of faith (Mk. 4,40)? It was because they had their gaze fixed in the wrong place – the waves and the howling wind – the elements. They were overcome by the sheer force of the weather against them. The Lord was in the boat all along; they should by then have known his power, and that all would be well as long as he was there! But their eyes were on the storm!😗🙁 What happened for them then was that the storm was MAGNIFIED in their eyes, whereas Jesus became very small!
Isn’t this just what happens to us when our eyes are focussed on the situation instead of on God?
I recently heard a story about a minister who had preached on prayer in a famous church in London before the 2nd World War. On leaving the church after the service, he was approached by a well-dressed elderly lady. “Dear Sir”, she said, “Is it alright if I also bring small things to God in prayer?”. “Dear Lady”, he answered, “For God all things are small!”
I thought that brought perspective! It is not the size of our problem that is the issue. All things are small to God – because for him all things are possible (e.g. Mt. 19,26).
So the dynamic is this: With our eyes fixed on what’s wrong, our faith starts to dwindle away because we lose sight of HIM WHO CAN DO ALL THINGS! This leads to a dark place of fear, and no peace. If we fix our gaze on the Lord and his promises, our faith remains intact, we can hear God speaking to us about our situation, and we have peace, for: “You will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isa. 26,3).
I have made this all sound so easy and so obvious. In actual fact it is neither, when life is upon you! BUT IT IS TRUTH! AND WE DO WELL TO MARK IT! WE DO WELL TO FIX THE IMAGE OF JESUS SLEEPING IN THE BOAT ON THE SEA OF GALILEE IN OUR MIND AND IMAGINATION!
NO PROBLEM OR SITUATION IS GREATER THAN OUR GOD! 😀
It helps us to keep this perspective if we learn to give thanks to God in every situation; to give thanks and to offer up praises to him. Remember Paul and Silas in prison in Philippi, in Acts 16.
I love a story which illustrates this last point in 2 Chron. 20, 1-30. It is about king Jehoshaphat. God brought Israel* the victory over their enemies as Israel offered praises to him. This bears reading!
Lastly: Oh, how blessed are we not when God can teach us to rest in the midst of a raging storm, instead of being filled with fear? I believe that then at last our faith is released in the situation and he can work for us in all kinds of ways. And then our praying will be more effectual as well! And remember: “All things work together for good for them who love God!” (Rom. 8,28).
A PRAYER: LORD FILL US WITH THE FAITH, THE STRENGTH AND THE COURAGE OF THE LION OF JUDAH (Rev. 5,5), THAT WE MAY SEE YOUR WORKS! 😊
* To be precise, it was Judah, as Israel at this point was a divided kingdom; Israel in the North, Judah in the South.
Here’s a great song from a great workship leader!
He Never Sleeps (Ps. 121), Don Moen