Jesus May Be Sleeping but He's Still In The Boat | Mark 4

During my time living here (two years in a few days!) I have been fortunate enough to see the amazing provision and perfect timing of God.

I'm reading through Mark at the moment and just got to this story. I love this account because Mark mentions water coming into the boat:

37/38

"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?'"

Now when you've read this and you get to verse 40, Jesus asks the disciples a question which honestly, seems ridiculous under the circumstances:

40

"But He said to them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'"

I'm sorry, what?

Why were they so fearful?

How could they not have faith?

ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?

Water was filling their boat. Enough water in the boat meant they would sink. So why would Jesus even ask that question?

I think Jesus was genuinely asking because He was trying to understand how their minds worked.

Yes, their boat was sinking. But Jesus was with them. And yes, He was asleep. But He was the same Jesus they had seen heal and forgive a paralysed man, heal a man with a withered hand and cast out demons. Was there really any question as to His abilities?

Yes, Jesus was asleep. But that didn't mean He couldn't save them. He was still there.

Sometimes we look at our situation; a bill that needs to be paid tomorrow and an empty bank account, a job that we should have heard from last week that we still haven't heard from, a place to live in a little over a week and no money for rent; and we act like the disciples.

We scream, 'Hello! God! Are you even awake? Don't you see what's happening? Everything is falling to pieces and you aren't doing anything!'

But He is. His presence is enough. Just by being there, He is doing something. And when what you've been waiting for comes through, you too will feel as though Jesus is asking you 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'

I'm not writing this to judge or condemn anyone, because I kick myself every time Jesus 'comes through' with something great and I had thought He'd forgotten. I'm writing this to encourage you and I in our waiting, watching, hoping times, when we're waiting for our breakthrough or our miracle. Because even though it might seem rather quiet when you would like lights and action, Jesus may be sleeping, but He's still in the boat.

The Proof is in The Pudding

2 Peter 1:16 NKJV

"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."

If you are a Brit, or friends with one, you probably know and understand the title of this post. If not... a quick explanation..the saying comes from the original saying 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating' which means that the quality of something is unsure until it has been tested (or in the case of pudding tasted!)

I love this verse in 2 Peter (in the picture it is written from the Message in Swedish) because it says that what the disciples are talking about they didn't just make up, they experienced it for themselves.

In much the same way...all of us as Christians, all of us who have caught a glimpse of God and felt Him touch and change our lives are also talking from experience. It happened to us, that's how we know.

I have not to this day met a Christian who doesn't want to tell you how they met God and He changed them. We call this testimony, because as 'eyewitnesses of His majesty' we are able to stand up and testify that He is for real.

If you are a Christian reading this, never stop sharing with others how you got to know God. If you aren't a Christian (yet) and you're reading this, ask someone who is how they got to be.

One more thing to say on this...no matter what your testimony is, whether you grew up with Christian parents like I did, or you grew up in completely different circumstances, your testimony is important and of equal importance.

I used to think that because I grew up in a Christian home my testimony about finding God was redundant, but it isn't. The fact that I grew up in a Christian home meant I was exposed to my parent's faith a lot and that they did their best to encourage me to have a relationship with God but the truth is...I know the day when I finally encountered God and He changed me so that I began to live out of that...and THAT is my testimony, and it can and will bless others just as much as the testimony of a former atheist can.

P. S. I'll share it another time. x