By Lilly Lewin
This past Sunday, the lectionary readings were about trusting that Jesus has got things under control. And if you are like me, maybe you need that reminder too!
A part of Psalm 9 really stood out to me.
Psalm 9:9-10 NIV
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:9-10 THE MESSAGE
God’s a safe-house for the battered,
a sanctuary during bad times.
The moment you arrive, you relax;
you’re never sorry you knocked.
I love the Message translation, imagining God as my safe house and a place where I can relax is an amazing thing! How does this image help you?
The Gospel passage was from Mark 4 where Jesus calms the storm.
Read it down below.
What storms are brewing or blowing up in your life right now?
How do you need Jesus to calm them?
When have you felt like Jesus was asleep in the boat and not paying attention to what was happening in your life?
The disciples ask Jesus, “Do you care that we are perishing?” What things help you believe that Jesus cares?
It was Jesus’s idea that they cross the sea at night. Does this change the situation for you? Can you believe, can you trust, that Jesus knows the plan even when you are in the middle of the Lake? Even in the middle of the storm? Why or Why not? Talk to Jesus about this.
Remember that Jesus isn’t bothered by the Storm.
He’s asleep on a cushion in the stern of the boat. The disciples, in their fear, go wake Jesus up to save them. Jesus tells the wind and the sea to BE STILL! He calms the storm.
Why not choose a cushion or pillow as a symbol to use this week as a reminder that Jesus can, and is calming the storms around you. ( or you might build a boat, like we did at thinplace on Sunday night! )
Are you willing to let Jesus calm the storms in your world right now?
Then YOU can fall asleep on the cushion too!
Lay your head on the Cushion.
Rest, Trust, Be Still, Be at Peace. Jesus has got this.
MARK 4: 35-41 NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
MARK 4: 35-41 THE MESSAGE
35-38 Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”
39-40 Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”
41 They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”
