Looking for Jesus

by Bryan Craig

DAY THREE

Scripture:  Mark 6:47-50 NIV

“When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and He was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. 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 saw Him and were terrified.

Immediately He spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage!  It is I. Don’t be afraid.'”  

Thought:  The Disciples were in a scary situation, stressed and afraid about the storm in which they found themselves. They were straining, trying to handle their situation by themselves, and when Jesus came to them, they didn’t recognize Him.

In verse 52, after they figured out it was Jesus, it says, “They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”

Jesus had just fed 5000 with a few loaves of bread and a few fish, but when He walked on water, they could not believe it. It says their hearts were hardened.  It seems when we are up against the wall and fearful, our hearts get hard and faith has a difficult time finding a place in our lives.

Application:  Storms of life come and go regularly. It’s never smooth sailing all the time. When we find ourselves in a storm, are we looking for Jesus or straining at our oars of self-sufficiency?

Has a recent storm caused us to lose faith in God’s miraculous abilities?

Let’s not be like the disciples who forgot about Jesus feeding the 5000. Let’s remember miracles we’ve seen in our own encounters with Jesus. Let those experiences embolden our faith.

Write down Jesus miracles you have witnessed in your journals.

Response:  Let’s trust Jesus with whatever we are facing today, without fear. Write a prayer of commitment and trust in our journals. Write out your storm in your journals and then, get a red pen and write these words next to it, as if from Jesus… “I’VE GOT THIS!”