Read: Psalm 29 and Mark 4
S.O.A.P.
Scripture – Observation – Application – Prayer
S:
With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they
could understand. Mark 4:33
He said to his disciples, “Why are you
so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Mark 4:40
O:
Psalm 29 talks about the voice of God (the qowl [voice] of YHVH – the covenant
keeping name of God) which is described as majestic and something to invoke in
us awe and even fear. A couple of nights
ago we had a thunder storm. I happened
to sleep through it without hearing a thing.
But the next day at work people were describing the storm as “loud”. One lady said one of the claps of thunder
made her sit up in bed and gasp for air because it startled her so much. Another one said it sounded like “a bomb
going off”. I was amazed at all of their
descriptions because literally I heard nothing.
I slept through it like a baby.
The words here used to describe the
qowl of YHVH are similar. A voice that
breaks cedars and strips the trees of their bark and divides the flames of
fire; this is a voice of authority and power.
But it is the last verse that I love the most, “The LORD will give
strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace [shalom =
wholeness].” (verse 11) The voice of the
LORD strengthens us and blesses us! As
my friend Sandra would say, Ah-Main!
As we flip over to Mark chapter
4. Again we see the authority and power
of the qowl of YHVH through Jesus Christ our Lord – Yeshua HaMashiach as he
speaks to the wind and the waves. Ever
since I heard Joyce Meyer teach on this passage I have a great affection for
it.
First of all Jesus says to his disciples
in verse 35, “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go
over to the other side.’” I love what
Joyce brought out that I had never seen before in this passage. Jesus said “Let’s go over to the other side.” If Jesus says we are going to go to the other
side of the lake, we are going to go over!
What Jesus says to us we can believe!!!
Which is one reason He rebuked His disciples after everything was said
and done when He asked them where their faith was. Basically He was asking them, “Don’t you
believe Me?” It is like a parent telling
a child, “I said I would do it and you can trust my word!”
“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.” Verse 37-38 tells us Jesus was sleeping
through the storm just like I was the other night, in the meantime the
disciples were very awake and very scared!
They weren’t thinking about Jesus’ words that they were going to the
other side, no, they were looking at the waves and the water in the boat and
thinking, “we are going to drown” (verse 38b).
Joyce points out here that sometimes the middle is messy!
You may have received a promise from
the LORD and you know you are going to the other side of it, but often times
the middle is messy! We as parents know
that by the grace of God we will get through potty training, their first days
of school, learning to read and write and into middle school and finally
graduation, but we also know there is going to be some MESS in the middle of
all that. Potty training is not for the
faint of heart and there are going to be some MESSY days (literally!). Learning new things at school and in life for
our kids are hard and MESSY! Middle
school years and hormonal changes are MESSY!
But we get through them and we do get to the other side.
Life is MESSY! Let’s face it! But with Jesus in our proverbial boats of
life we will get to the other side! Even
when you think He is being silent and “not caring”. That’s what the disciple thought and even
asked him, “Don’t you even care that we are going to drown???????” They were probably screaming at Him because
they were scared. Jesus even asked them,
“What are you afraid of?”
So I pose that question to you, “What
are you afraid of today?” Where does
life seem messy to you right now? I used
the example of raising kids, but I know there are A LOT of other “messy middles”
that some of you are going through. Some
of you reading this today may be going through or have experienced cancer, some
of you are dealing with deaths of loved ones, some are possibly going through
divorces or other messy situations. And
if you are not experiencing them yourself then you know of those who are. Life is MESSY!
I would love to hear your comments
below. What messes are you
experiencing? Let us as a group lift
those up to the LORD in prayer and let His Powerful Voice speak to those situations. Where has God strengthen your faith in the middle
of current or past messes? Your
testimony may be the encouragement someone needs to hear today. Comment on times when you felt God was silent
and you possibly felt like you were about to drown, but then how you saw Him
work through the mess and get you to the other side.
A:
My application for myself today is to remember to trust God in the
MESS! And to cling to the promise that
we will get to the other side in this life or the next we are going to get
through it!
