Tenderheart

Jesus Calms the storm (Mark 4:35-41)

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, " Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up , and the wave broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern. sleeping on the cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him. "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be Still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

They were terrified and asked each other,"Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

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The beautiful thing about Jesus is that he is both completely man and completely God... Like God, he has the divine ability to rise above all difficulties and challenges... he has authority over all in this world... but like man, Jesus has deep feelings of compassion..

Being raised by man, he understands completely well, how the human functions.... He understands human fears, helplessness and infirmities... And this is how Jesus Christ is able to provide for us completely... Because he does not give from a heart of supeority... Instead, he gives from a heart of love... because he knows how helpless we are and how much impact he can make in our lifes, the more he gives, the happier he is. In fact, it has been long preached that Jesus is more willing to give.. than you are to recieve...

I love this story because here you have a boatful of disciples... at the brink of death... yes.. they may be Jesus's disciples.. yes.. they may have just witnessed dozens of miracle healings and miracle provision... but they are still human.. how many of us can not panic when we are placed on a boat that is about to sink?

No matter how many miracles we have witnessed before, we will always have doubts on whether we would survive... Somehow the human tendency to demiracalise everything and explain it as a result of chance always gets the better of us.... and before long.. we find ourselves doubting the love and power of God..

Fortunately for us, Jesus understands our fear and understands our lack of faith... More importantly, he understands our desperation and need for IMMEDIATE help... Therefore, instead of carrying on his restful sleep... Jesus woke up immediately to calm the storm.. And almost instantly there was pin drop silence... the boat was completely still... completely peaceful...

So beloved, I am not writing this in attempt to encourage you to learn how to get a grip of yourself in tough times... Jesus did many things we humans can never do.. for one.. Jesus walked on water.. none of us can do that no matter how hard we try.... Therefore, I am writing this not to encourage you to learn to sleep during a storm.. It is impossible and almost inhuman to do so...

How many of us can fall asleep peacefully when our loved one is dying? Somehow, that would make us heartless and inhuman... In fact, it is our vulnerability that God loves and treasures... it is our humaness that is so precious... Therefore, do not feel guilty if you lack faith... It is as good as feeling guilty for breathing... why feel guilty about something you have no control over?

Therefore, when you are in dire circumstances, do not endeavour to be peaceful and strong with your own effort. Instead, be like the disciples.. call on the LORD when your need is dire... Do not be tempted to turn to your friends or to resort to political-scheming... All this won't save you.. Call on the LORD... and he will strip the circumstances of its might over you... and stabilise everything....

The fact that Jesus could sleep on the boat shows that he was confident that as long as he was on the boat, God would never allow it to sink.. He knew that, thus he could sleep deeply despite all the turbulence..

In fact, Jesus could have just ignored his disciples and carried on sleeping.. and when the morning came and the storm subsided, he could have lectured them and scolded them for their lack of faith... then stood up and said "see, you should all be like me.. I slept so soundly last night.. have faith like me."

But no. Jesus didn't do that... He calmed the storms immediately because he knew that humans were vulnerable... and easily subjected to trauma... Thus, he decided to do the loving thing... and provided peace back to the circumstances... Though either way, they would definitely have lived... He loved the disciples so much to ensure that not only do they live... but they lived well, and are fully aware of God's divine love and tenderheart towards them...

Similarly, this is the love that Jesus has for you... every single second of your life! =) God's grace, God's grace!