Great Calm I

Sunday 10 July
READ: Mark 4:35 -39
MORE LESSON: Psa. 89: 8 - 9

Jesus had gone for a meeting with His disciples and as they were coming back, the wind began to beat at the ship so ferociously that the disciples were greatly afraid. The ship had begun to be filled with water and it looked like it would sink. Water, in this context, represents trouble. Troubles and storms in life are a reality that we must face; it is how you handle them that determines whether you are really in trouble or not.

Many of the disciples were fishermen; they were skilled in the water business. So they must have immediately swerved into action as they tried to do all the professional things like removing excess load to make the boat light, rowing in the direction of the wind, etc. However, all they did was to no avail as the storm increased and the water became so overwhelmingly out of control. It was at that point that they realised they needed Jesus. They had tried all the physical things to correct the problem but there was no result. Most times, the reason for the struggle of men is that they are trying to handle a spiritual problem using a physical technique.

A great calm came when they realised that their knowledge of the sea could not help and they cried to Jesus. It was when they shouted out loud to Jesus for help that He rose up to calm their storm. What is intriguing in this story is that Jesus was in a boat and the boat was sinking and He didn't do anything. Don't think that Jesus was so dead asleep that He was unconscious of His surrounding and needed to be awakened by His disciples so that He would not drown with the ship.

The truth is that Jesus knew about the storm but He would not do something until He was invited into the situation. Jesus was waiting for them to recognise His presence and ask Him for help. This shows that Jesus could be in a boat and storms still attack the boat. This also teaches us that Jesus will not automatically calm a storm unless you ask Him to. God works by principles and one of his principles is that you only receive when you ask (Matt 7: 7). A desire without prayer is wishful thinking; you must talk to the Lord about your desire. The ship of your life could be filled with trouble today just as theirs was. You need to call the Master of the storm and He will bring a great calm. Prayer is the way to experience calm in the midst of the threatening storm. Don't assume that you are a Christian and a worker in church so the Lord would automatically calm the storm of your life without you expressing your need to Him in prayer. You must pray to the Lord for calm to come.

PRAYER/ACTION
* Jesus, come into my home, work and life and still the storm around my life.
* Pray that you will walk through any storm with Jesus in view.
* Declare that no storm will be able to swallow you up, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, I use the token of the blood of Jesus to wipe out the handwriting of all ordinances programmed against my destiny, in the name of Jesus.