Genesis 43:1-15
Psalm 95; Psalm 69:1-23,31-38; Psalm 73
1 Cor 7:1-9
Mark 4: 35-41
In today’s scripture, Jesus and his disciples got in a boat to head to the other side of the lake after a day of telling parables. A terrible windstorm approached, causing waves to break into the boat, filling it with water. Terrified, the disciples awakened Jesus, saying “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Last summer my brother and his wife lost everything they owned in a devastating tornado that hit Oklahoma City. I imagine as the storm winds howled and they fled for safety, Erik and Melanie’s thoughts may have been similar to that of the disciples: “Don’t You care that we are perishing?”
Today’s reading is about trusting in God, not only when the going is good, but even more so when the storms of life roll in. These storms are all around us — cancer, unemployment, divorce, car accidents, and quite literally, tornadoes. Our natural tendency is to be afraid and hit the panic button, to awaken Jesus. However, our challenge and our call as Christians is to trust in God and have faith that He will calm the storms of our lives and say, “Peace! Be still!”
I will close with a quote from the devotional book He Was Only Twenty Four, by Dr. Alvin Rogness. “You and I are built for storms. We are not built for cozy, safe little harbors. The Lord is with us. With him, we have the kind of craft that can weather any storm…”
