Jesus Will Come to Me in the Midst of My Storm

In review of Mark 6:48b it says, “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water”

Bottom Line:

Jesus will be there and as close as we want him to be.

What this means to me:

Jesus notices when I’m in serious trouble, working hard and struggling. When I recognize my need for him, he will come as close as I want him to be. If I recognize him he will be there for me, If I don’t he may just pass me by.

In Mark chapter 6, Jesus had sent the disciples ahead of him to Bethsaida while he went off by himself to pray. Although it wasn’t a long trip by boat, they were blown off course by a storm, and when Jesus saw them struggling against the wind in the middle of the lake, he came to their aid.

There are many times in my life where a storm has blown me off course. I had no intention of being where I ended up. I’ve been blown off course by situations I couldn’t control. I feel like I should be where I intended to go by now, but at this point, I may have even given up hope of getting to my original destination. I just want to get back to safety.

In this passage I can see what Jesus does when I’m at my moment of desperation? Mark 6:48b says, “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water” (NLT). Notice he didn’t tell the disciples to come to him. He knew they couldn’t get to him. He went to them. When I’m at that point of desperation, Jesus comes to me.

It’s great that Jesus did not stand on the shore and shout instructions. When I’m in a storm, I don’t need advice. I need a miracle! I need somebody to show up, and this is what Jesus did. He intervened in the disciples’ storm.

This is the Gospel message. God doesn’t stand on the shoreline telling us what to do. He comes out and meets us in our pain, our fear, our depression, our storm, and our discouragement. He comes to us. What a God!

Jesus will never abandon me. The Bible says in John 14:18, “I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm — I will come to you” (TLB). This is something I can count on it!

Learning Why My Way Isn’t Working

In review of Luke 5:4-5 it says, “When [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets’”

Bottom Line:

When Jesus asks, do it.

What this means to me:

When Jesus asks me to do something, no matter how unusual the request seems, I should do it. Things done on my effort alone will not bear the same of that which God could do through me.

Today's passage comes from the first part of Luke chapter 5 and describes the first disciples of Jesus. One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. Jesus noticed two empty boats, stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push out to water. There he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. When he had finished speaking, he told Simon to go out deeper and let down his nets for a catch. Master, Simon replied, we worked hard all night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll do it and this time their nets were so full the nets began to tear. They shouted to and were aided by their partners in the other boat. Soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. When Simon realized what happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, Lord, please leave me, I'm such a sinful man." Jesus replied, "don't be afraid!" From now on you'll be fishing for people!. After they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Simon had to admit failure to Jesus. Afterall, he was a fisherman by trade and likely good at it. It was how he made a living. But I’m sure there are times when even the pros fish all night and catch nothing.

I’m sure these guys were doing their best, however sometimes even our best is not good enough. There will always be situations that are out of our control. For instance I can’t control the economy. I can’t control the weather. I can’t control a lot of things in life that will affect my life. I may have tried hard, but it just doesn’t seem to make any difference and I don’t have much to show for it.

So what this passage teaches me is that I need to get Jesus in my boat. In other words, let him be the center of my job. Then I need to admit that my way isn’t working. The Bible calls it confession, and it can be tough.

It’s tough to admit that my way isn’t working because of Pride. Personally I don’t want anybody to think I can’t handle it. After all, I’m in charge. I’ve got it all together. Therefore, I think I can handle everything by myself, even if it means working 12 hours a day.

Also, stubbornness gets in the way as well. I’m unwilling to change the way I do things. One of my greatest enemies of tomorrow’s success is yesterday’s success.

Lastly fear. It's hard for me to admit I’ve fished all night and caught nothing. I’m afraid that people will think less of me. I can be afraid to get Jesus into my boat because he’ll steer it in a direction I may not want to go.

So if I’m doing my best in my job, and it just don’t seem to have much to show for it. I need to let go of my pride, stubbornness, and fear, and see how Jesus can take my boat and fill it to overflowing.

Today I will consider what is it that I want God to accomplish through me in my career? Will I be willing to give him control? What confession(s) do I need to make.

Learning to Give Jesus Control of My Career

In review of Matthew 6:33 it says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need”.

Bottom Line:

Put God’s Kingdom and work first, he will provide the rest.

What this means to me:

I am to be more concerned with the Kingdom of God and what he wants. If I do, he will provide everything else I need.

In order to turn my life from emptiness to overflowing, I need to give Jesus complete control of my life, including my career.

Luke 5:3 says, “Jesus got into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, and asked him to push off a little from the land. Then Jesus sat down and continued to teach the people from the boat” (NCV).

The disciples had worked all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus stepped into their boat and told them to cast their nets again. When they did, they caught so many fish that the nets began to break! It was the same lake, the same boat, the same nets, the same fishermen, and the same fish. The only difference between nothing and fullness was Jesus is in their boat.

As a starting point: I’ve got to get Jesus in my boat.

The boat for me, is how I make my living. Simon’s business was his boat because he was a fisherman. The boat represents my career, profession, and job, just like it represented Simon Peter’s entire livelihood.

Having Jesus in my boat means I dedicate my career to God and give him control of my career.  I can just put him on the shelf, rather I need him there with me and I need to trust him with it.

When Simon Peter gave his job to Jesus, he was blessed with incredible results. It’s important for me to remember the sequence. It’s not, “God, make me really successful in business, and then I’ll serve you with the success.” Wrong! It’s the exact opposite. First, Peter gave Jesus control of his job. Then Jesus blessed Peter’s job with enormous success. That’s the order.

Today’s verse in Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (NLT).

This is true for my career as it is with everything else.  Whatever I want God to bless, put him first in it. To have my time blessed, I give him the first part of every day. To have God bless my money, I give him the first 10 percent of your income, and work toward giving more. So if I want  God to bless my job, I give him control, no matter how successful I am.

Learning To See Others the Way Jesus Does

In review of Mark 6:34 it says, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd”

Bottom Line:

Jesus saw people and felt compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things they needed to know.

What this means to me:

In developing to be more like Jesus in character, I too should have compassion on those who are lost (sheep without a shepherd.) I can help introduce Jesus to them and teach them what I have learned and experienced.

Today's verse comes from Mark chapter 6 where Jesus feeds five thousand. Jesus and his disciples left on boat for quiet place to be alone for a while, however the people saw them leave and ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped out, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Later in the day, the disciples had encouraged Jesus to send the people away to find food, however Jesus told them, "you feed them." The disciples commented that even with many months of wages they could not afford to buy food to feed them. Jesus then instructs them to find out how much food is available. They came back with five loaves and two fish. Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups of fifty to one hundred. He then took the food, looked toward heaven and blessed them. Then breaking the bread into pieces, he kept giving it to the disciples so that they could distribute it to the people. He did the same with the fish. They all ate as much as they wanted and afterwards the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.

I too should look at life from Jesus viewpoint. The best way to know I’m looking at life this way is to look at how I see other people.

A bit test of my spiritual maturity is not how much Bible I know or how often I go to church or whether I serve or tithe or pray, but rather my relationships and how I see other people. What I’m learning is the life is all about love!

Do I see my wife like God does (valuable, acceptable, lovable and forgivable?)  How do I see strangers around me here at Starbucks? The person who cut me off in traffic? A beggar on the street? What do I see when I look at others? Are they irritants? Burdens?

Are those I work with as enemies? Or as competition?

From what I know in scripture all people matter to God. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they’ve done or even what they believe. Christ died for them, Jesus loves them, God has a plan for their lives, and he wants them to have a relationship with him.

Today’s verse from Mark 6:34 says, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (NIV). That’s the way Jesus sees people.

I too need to grow in this manner and not only have compassion for my own family but also for neighbors, communities, country and the whole world. I need to let my spiritual vision get larger and clearer and stronger as I learn to see people the way Jesus does.

Today, I will consider how I can show compassion to others.

Short-term Thinking Will Keep Me from Seeing Clearly

In review of Mark 8:16-17 it says, “His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, ‘He said this because we have no bread.’ Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, ‘Why are you talking about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed?’”

Bottom Line:

Don’t let short-term thinking take over, consider the bigger picture.

What this means to me:

It’s easy for me to get caught up in short-term thinking. I need to consider the bigger picture of what God may be doing in my situation / circumstances.

Today's passage comes from Mark chapter 8 where Jesus warns his disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. The disciples still didn't quite get Jesus' and the bigger picture of what he was trying to teach to them, for when they heard this they began to be concerned about not bringing enough bread with them. Jesus said to them, don't you know or understand yet? Are your hearts too hard, can you not see, do you not hear. Don't you remember when I fed thousands with small amounts and what you picked up as left-overs.

What I’m learning is that I’ll miss what God is doing in my life when I remain focused on the here-and-now and not what God wants to do in my life long-term. When I think about comfort rather than character, when I think about my happiness and not my holiness (being set apart for a purpose), when I think about enjoying life now instead of preparing for eternity, I’m caught up in short-term thinking, and this will keep me from seeing life clearly.

This is what happened with the disciples. Jesus was trying to teach them a lesson about pride by using yeast as a metaphor. This passage in Mark 8:16-17 says, “His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, ‘He said this because we have no bread.’ Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, ‘Why are you talking about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed?’” (NCV)

Jesus was trying to teach the disciples a lesson about life, and they thought he was talking about lunch! He was talking about the need for maturity, and they were talking about their next meal. That’s short-term thinking.

Short-term thinking keeps me from seeing how God is working in my life. It’s one of the great weaknesses of American culture. It’s hard to think long-term today because everything in our culture teaches us to do the opposite. We often rob the future to enjoy today. Many set up years and years of unpayable debt to future generations so we can do what we want now.

Whenever I’m thinking short-term, I can’t see what God’s doing in my life. I can’t see his long-range plans for my character when I’m just thinking about my own comfort. I should ask God from time-to-time to give me a glimpse into eternity and to help me see the hope I can have when I see his long-term plan.

One thing I can do to help remind myself more frequently is to preface and reflect on my own version of Matthew 6:9-13 that I use in my prayer times, and how it plays into the long-term and eternal mindset.

I should spend some time today thinking of where I see God working in my life - the longer-term perspective?

God Provides on the Way to the Miracle

In review of Philippians 4:19 it says, “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus”

Bottom Line:

God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus

What this means to me:

It is God who will supply all my needs from his riches in glory because of what Christ Jesus has done.

Today's passage comes from the middle of Philippians chapter 4, where Paul is thanking the Philippians for their thoughtfulness and gifts for him. In this section Paul explains how thankful he is for their gifts. In addition, he tells them that he has learned to be content with whatever he has at the moment, whether it is plenty or nothing. He does it through the strength that Christ gives him. He concludes this section with, “this same God who takes care of him will supply all of our needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

The next time I find myself in a rut or feeling the pressure, there are some things I need to remember:

First - God is all I need. I don’t need the government or even a job. If God wants to, he can have ravens drop food on me as his way of providing. That’s how he provided for the Prophet Elijah when he was exhausted and burned-out in the desert (1 Kings 17:1-16). When God turns off one job opportunity, he can turn on another just as easily. I shouldn’t trust in my bank account. I should trust in God.

Second - Where God guides, God provides. After sending the ravens to feed Elijah, God told him to make a dangerous trip to Zarephath. There was a drought in Zarephath and very little food. Yet God provided for Elijah, not through someone who had stockpiled food but through a poor widow with a generous heart (who God blessed for her obedience). When God tells me to go somewhere, leave now! When God tells me to do something, do it right away. When God gives me direction, he will provide what I need to get there.

Third - I need to trust him one day at a time. I trust him each day, because some of my problems persist day after day. For instance, financial problems, are ones that I’ll have to deal with them one day at a time. And so I must trust God one day at a time to provide.

Today’s verse reminds me, “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

Fourth - God’s promises work when I’m obedient. God wants me to take a step, and then he’ll show me the next one. It may not seem logical, but I need to do what God says because God’s way is always best. In any faith situation, God wants me to take that first step of faith.

Part of the first step of faith is asking Jesus to take control of life. I can renew this by praying, “Dear God, thank you that you love me and want to keep me from depending on other things instead of you. Forgive me for when I’ve depended on my job and other people instead of you. Thank you that you haven’t forgotten me. Lord, the days ahead may be a little scary at times, but I understand now that the path to a miracle is through uncomfortable territory. I understand now that the source of a miracle will be unexpected, so I shouldn’t try to figure it out. I should just trust you. When you tell me what to do, and it doesn’t always make sense, I will still do what you want me to do. Help me to remember that you’re all I need and that where you guide, you’ll provide. I want to learn to trust you one day at a time. I want to go your way, not my way. I want to follow you, and I ask you to save me and come into my life. I claim your promise that if I trust you, you’ll meet my needs. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Miracles Always Come from Unexpected Sources

In review of Isaiah 55:8 it says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine’” (Isaiah 55:8 NLT).

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours!

“My thoughts,” says the Lord, “are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours.

.my thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord (for my thoughts are not your thoughts) (neither are my thoughts the same as yours) (My thoughts, says the Lord, are not like yours)

.and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine (neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord) (this plan of mine is not what you would work out) (and my ways are different from yours)

Bottom Line:

The Lord says: “My thoughts and my ways are not like yours.

What this means to me:

God’s thoughts are nothing like mine, and his ways are far beyond anything I could ever imagine.

Today's passage comes from the middle of Isaiah chapter 55. This chapter speaks of the invitation to the Lord's salvation. It explains that we can come to the Lord just as we are. It doesn't cost anything and we do not need to have achieved anything. God has made an everlasting covenant with us. Like King David before us, he will provide us with unfailing love. Through our lives and our example others will come to be interested in and also come to the Lord. God's thoughts are nothing like ours, and His ways are far beyond anything we could ever imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his ways are higher than ours and his thoughts higher than ours.

Most, have needs we want met (including me). And like most I often try to figure how to get them fulfilled. I may be looking around and thinking, “Maybe God could do it that way” or “Maybe I could help God along with this” or “Maybe I could give a suggestion here.”

This is simply just a form of manipulation, and it doesn’t work!

The source of a miracle will not be where I think it’s going to come from. It’s always unexpected.

God told Abraham that he was going to have a son, and that son was going to be the father of a great nation. Abraham was nearly 100 years old and had a little trouble believing God’s promise. So he took matters into his own hands and had sex with a woman who wasn’t his wife, and they had a son named Ishmael. But God said, “No! That’s not the one I promised. That’s the one you came up with using your plan, but that’s not my plan. My plan is I’m going to use your wife Sarah and do a miracle long after she’s capable of having children.”

The way I want to meet my need is not the way God wants to meet that need. My way ends up being second best, whereas God’s way is always best.

I suppose if I could understand God, I’d be Him. But I’m not! “God is God, and I’m not.” Isaiah 55:8 says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine’” (NLT).

The source of a miracle always comes in an unexpected way. But I shouldn’t fret, fear or try to figure it out.

What I’m learning is that I just trust God, and say, “I don’t know how you, God, are going to do it, but I know your will be done.” So when God tells me to do something, even if it doesn’t make sense, I need to do it. Even if going in that direction or to that location or to talk to that person doesn’t make sense, I simply obey God and do what he tells me to do. And then, I can get ready for Him to work.

Today I should consider what is God telling me to do that doesn’t make sense, but something that I know I should obey?