Monday, August 31, 2015
Mark 6:48-50 About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart! It is I. Don't be afraid."
LORD, KEEP US IN YOUR WORD
What a difference a word from God can make! The disciples are scared half out of their wits when they see this figure walking on the water, but a word from Jesus changes that instantly.
Now, if before they shoved off you had asked those same men if they believed in ghosts, it's very possible they would’ve given you quick "no." But now in the darkness, in the middle of the night that seems like the only possible explanation. Someone's out there, and he's walking on the waves, and that's not possible for human beings so ...
But then Jesus speaks, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
Without a word from Jesus His disciples are afraid when they need not be. Sound familiar? It shouldn't happen to us as often as it does, should it? After all, we know and have experienced the fact that it is the word of our God that creates and sustains faith in Jesus in our hearts. Yet, too often, in the midst of trouble and difficulty we do not turn to the word, and like the disciples in the boat, we are afraid. For ourselves, for our loved ones, for our nation, for the future. And unnecessarily so.
Without the word of God there is fear. But in the word of God Jesus comes to us -- and He says, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
Once more then we are encouraged to make the Bible a regular part of our daily lives -- so that it is a natural faith-instinct to turn to the word in time of trouble. And so that the Word of our God is part of us, a living part of our memories -- upon which the Holy Spirit can draw when we need it.
