Time on my hands

These are the notes from the study we did this week...
Maybe it'll be encouraging to someone... :o)


Calmer of the Storm

Invariably life gets tough sometimes… Everyone goes through rough waters, especially when God is trying to work in their lives. Think about some of the ‘storms’ that are rocking your life lately… the situations that are causing you anxiety…


Mark 4:35-40
‘That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 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. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

How did the disciples react to the storm? (did they panic and react in fear? Did they believe that Jesus wasn’t looking out for them? Did they believe he could?)

The disciples were fishermen, they had probably spent a great deal of time fishing on that lake, yet they were afraid of drowning in this storm and called out to Jesus to save them….
It seems kind of strange that Jesus would be sleeping during this storm, if it so frightened the disciples, why wasn’t Jesus awake?

How do you think Jesus wanted the disciples to react to the storm? (…in calm trust that he would look after them? …believing that he was able to protect them, and asking for his help?)
He wanted them to trust that He was always looking out for them. But I think he also wanted them to come to him… to wake him up and ask for help. To believe that he was able to save them. ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’

Isaiah 30:15
‘This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Isreal, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
In quietness and trust is your strength,
But you would have none of it.’

Psalm 46:10
“Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”


How are we going to react when furious squalls break over our lives?
Will we panic and cry out to God, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
Or will we be still and know that He is God, quietly asking Him to help us through the storm? When God tests us, He wants us to come to Him... but out of assurance,
not fear or anxiety.