Tag Archives: Kingdom of God

February 18, 2011 · 11:20 am

Peace…Be Still

The Word in Me Today: Peace

 

 

 

Photo by Karen Mitchell Smith of TopShelfPhotos

 

 

All right, I confess. I’m a worrier. The “what ifs” and the “maybes” and the “I should haves” sometimes start ringing in my mind around 4 AM. I try not to worry, and I know I shouldn’t worry, but it happens. By the time I actually get out of bed, I’ve usually started an action plan. And somehow that plan almost always involves me fixing my own problems.

But that’s not what God has called us to do.  In Mark 4:35-39 we see an interesting account of Jesus and his disciples. The scripture says, “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. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a 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!’”

If the disciples had taken matters into their own hands, abandoned ship perhaps, they would have drowned. Instead, they stayed in the boat with Jesus and asked Him to do something to help them. Even though their faith was very young, and they had not known Jesus long yet, they instinctively knew He could change their situation. And He did. Jesus commanded the storm to stop.

In Phillipians 4:6, Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

The disciples made their petition known to Jesus, and He acted on their behalf.

But My Problems are SO Big!

Jesus, fully God and fully human, understood with his man’s mind and his God’s heart that his followers struggled with anxiety. Not only was there the occasional storm in their lives, but they lived in a difficult time when taxes were high and a pagan culture ruled them. And Jesus knew that by choosing to follow Him, his people would suffer the wrath of  Rome. Yet he told them to consider the lilies of the field, and said, “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans [Romans] run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Peace Replaces Anxiety

Jesus gave his followers, and gives to us, something to replace worry. In John 14:27 He said, “”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

If peace could be bottled and sold on store shelves, it would be a priceless commodity. But it isn’t something that is offered by this world, and it cannot be obtained. Peace is something to be attained. And there is only one way to attain lasting peace. In a world where the rules change almost daily, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And forever! The peace that comes in knowing the Savior cannot be purchased. It can’t be learned. It can’t be manufactured and bottled and sold. It is a gift from God that comes to us when we learn to take our anxieties to the cross and, with thanksgiving,  leave them there.

I believe we have trouble doing this because we are used to the peace the world gives. The world’s peace is transitory, ever changing and very much circumstantial. Did you get a raise at your job? That peace of mind  is good only for as long as your company doesn’t start layoffs. Did you finish that difficult project you had been so worried about? The peace and relief you feel will  last only until the next project comes along. We have trained ourselves to find peace and comfort in things the world gives, but in the back of our mind, in the dark hours of the morning, there is that nagging knowledge that at any moment, whatever we are taking comfort in can be ripped from our grasp.

On the contrary, Jesus gives peace that is eternal. When the winds blow or the earth shakes or the lay offs come, Jesus Christ still holds your hand. When we learn to stay in the boat and wait for Jesus to act, His peace stills our storm. His name is a strong tower; the righteous run into it, and they are saved. His word is a two-edged sword. His resurrection power quickens your mortal body. If God is for us, who can be against us?

It Can Work For You!

Over and over God’s word speaks peace to us, but we have to seek it. Where do we find it? We can’t find peace in the USA Today over coffee, but we can find it in the living Word of God over coffee…or lunch…or on break from work…or before bed. Whenever the world is threatening your peace, His word is there, and it doesn’t change like the nightly prime-time channel line-up. God’s peace is everlasting, His kingdom has no end, and it doesn’t suffer economic downtimes. God is not out there on a thousand hillsides to see if he owns less cattle than before! His Word endures forever. That, beloved of God, is true peace.

In Isaiah 30:15, God says, ” In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Just prior to that verse, in Chapter 28, verse 16 b, He says “One who trusts will not panic.” What an amazing promise! Here God is referring to the coming of Christ, the foundation stone in Zion. One who trusts that Rock, “WILL NOT panic.”

Finally, in Proverbs 14:30 it says, “A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh.”

I encourage you to find a quiet place today and let the peace of God wash over you. His peace is unending, like the waves of the ocean. Find your strength in quietness and confidence, and stay in the boat with Jesus.

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February 12, 2011 · 2:27 pm

Come! Step Out onto the Water!

Photo by Karen Mitchell Smith of TopShelfPhotos

With the quickening of the night breezes, the wind shifted and increased until a small fishing vessel pitched and yawed with every punishing wave. The boatmen were exhausted from working all day, and now they had to use the last of their strength to keep the boat from being swamped.  The men must have grumbled. “Why has the master asked us to set out at night after we worked all day?” one might have said.

“We fed 5,000 people today! Wasn’t that enough?” another possibly added.

Perhaps someone tried to still the grumbling and complaining, but the night wore on and the strain began to take its toll on the little company of men. As the long night entered the fourth watch, those last long hours before dawn, one of the men thought he saw someone walking toward the boat. Walking on top of the waves! Impossible! He surely rubbed his eyes and looked again, wanting to be sure before alerting the others. “Look! A ghost!” he cried. And the others trembled in fear with him and took up the cry of “ghost!”

But then, the Master spoke. “Take heart! It is I; do not be afraid!” And though the men saw Jesus with their eyes, they could not wrap their minds around the fact that He walked on water. No one could walk on water…..could they?

So Peter, always the pragmatist, called out to Him, “Lord, if it’s really you, command me to come to you on the water.” And with a quick gesture of his hand, Jesus said simply, “Come!”

Full of brash boldness as always, Peter jumped out of the boat and began walking toward Jesus. What did he feel in those moments?  “Look! I’m doing it!” he might have shouted as he stared intently into his Lord’s eyes.

But then the wind rose and the waves came up, and suddenly the man of faith looked not at Jesus, but at the tempest. Fear rose up in him and replaced his faith, and Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately, the Word tells us –IMMEDIATELY, Jesus reached out his hand and rescued Peter.

You of little faith!” came Jesus’ rebuke. “Why did you doubt?”

And when the two men climbed into the boat, the storm stilled and the other disciples worshiped Jesus as the true Son of God.

There are so many lessons to be learned from this one little story!

  • Why did Jesus have the men push out to sea after such a long day? Maybe to show them, and us, that when you think you’ve done all you can do, He gives you strength to endure.
  • Why did Jesus wait so long to come to them? Why didn’t he come before the waves and wind became dangerous? We all want to be rescued before the storm starts. It’s human nature. But if we could all sit around on satin pillows, having our every wish and need fulfilled before we even ask, never facing anything difficult or sad or frightening in our lives, what type of people would be? Weak, ineffective and useless to the Kingdom of God, that’s what! It’s the constant battering of wind against trees that strengthen and harden them. Trees that are in dense forests where the wind does not reach them don’t put down deep roots, so they easily topple. God doesn’t want us to be easily toppled when Satan blows winds of adversity our way!
  • Why did Jesus ask Peter to join him? That one simple command from Jesus – “Come!” – speaks volumes. He is open to us. When we call to him, he is there. And He wants us to be effective for Him.  He didn’t say to Peter, “No, this special privilege is reserved for me only.” He said, “Come!” Jesus tells us that we can do all the things he did and even more, if we only have faith.  In John 14:12, He says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Does Jesus need us to walk on water? Probably not, but if we read this passage with a discerning mind, we will know that whatever he calls on us to do, no matter how difficult, He will enable us to complete the task.
  • Why did Peter Fall? The answer is so simple. He took his eyes off the source of his strength and looked at the circumstances instead. Satan will always magnify the circumstances in our minds if we allow him to. When the waves threaten us, and the stormy winds blow in our relationships or finances or health, looking at the storm will only increase the fear. When I was a child and was afraid of a storm, my mother would get me to play cards with her or do something else to take my mind off the situation. Before I knew it, the storm was over!  As long as Peter’s mind was off the situation, as long as he  looked to Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith, he could stay above the waves. But one look at what the enemy was throwing his way, and his faith went  down in one mighty gulp of fear.

And while Jesus did rebuke Peter for his lack of faith, mercifully, He also reached out his hand to keep Peter from drowning.  Jesus wants us to have faith. To look at Him and not to the right or left, but only at Him. Yet he knows we are human, and that we succumb to our fears. So while he gently calls us out for not holding onto our faith, His hand is reaching out in deliverance at the same time.

It Can Work for You!

What are you believing for today? Do you have the faith to get out of the boat, i.e. your comfort zone or security, and walk above the storm toward Jesus’ open hand? “Come!” he says. Come and see what I have for you. Come and see what you can do when you trust me. Tell Him your request, and listen for him to say “Come!”

(Story of Peter walking on the water with Jesus found in Matthew 14:22-23)

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