Jesus, the God Who Loves & Rescues You! 5 Day Reading PlanSample

DAY 3

JESUS loves you and his peace rescues you when life’s storms threaten.

Pray

Lord Jesus, I trust you. Yet, I sometimes feel anxious when problems arise, and I see no immediate solution. Help me to place my full confidence in you, and not look at my circumstances. Give me courage, strengthen my heart, renew my spirit, and fill me with your peace. Amen.

Read

Mark 4:35-41

On the evening of that same day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too. Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water. Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?”

Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, “Be quiet!” and he said to the waves, “Be still!” The wind died down, and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?”

But they were terribly afraid and began to say to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

John 14:27

“Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.”

Philippians 4:7

And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.

Reflect

Quite often we are quick to rush to judgment about the faith of the disciples during the storm. What would we have done? Close our eyes and say a prayer? Wake Jesus? Most of us would choose the latter, believing that Jesus would know what to do. And Jesus did know what to do. He calmed the storm but gently chided the disciples because part of following Jesus is having complete faith in him. They had witnessed his power on so many occasions, why doubt now? Did they not realize that their boat would never sink if Jesus was in it? They had failed to take him at his word… “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” They would reach the other side, all of them, because he said so. We can depend on every promise Jesus makes to us. He will fulfill it, even if it involves rescuing us from a life-threatening experience. What a mighty God we serve!

Respond

The storms in our lives are not always predictable. Yet, it is amazing the change in the atmosphere when Jesus comes to our rescue and speaks peace into our lives. When the Lord and Master of creation, and the universe, exercises his power and authority, calm prevails. The Scriptures tell us that God’s peace is “far beyond human understanding.” No need to rationalize it, we simply accept it by faith.

Part of our legacy from Jesus Christ is his peace. This inward peace is our mainstay when storms clouds show up. It keeps us from drowning in the flood of life’s unanswerable questions and keeps us in a posture of faith in the Lord. This peace should not be mixed with fear. It is for this reason Jesus tells us, “Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.”

We know what Jesus can do because, like his disciples, we have seen miracle after miracle in our own lives. Read Matthew’s account of Jesus calming the storm (Matthew 8:23-27) but take note of the many healings that precede it (Matthew 8:1-17). Why, then, do we doubt Jesus’s supernatural power? In amazement the disciples ask, “Who is this man?” Pray and ask God to assure you that it is Jesus, the God who loves and rescues us!