It all started this past Monday morning. After having my breakfast, my stomach didn’t feel right. I called in sick, and soon after, I threw up. What followed was a rotten week of vomiting every day (which, it turned out, was due to food poisoning). This led to excessive dehydration, which led to a persistent headache that basically lasted the whole week. I had no energy to speak of, leaving me sidelined, and forced to watch my whole world crumble around me.
As I look back at the ordeal, I probably could write a
week’s worth of content. I could speak
about how my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and so I
need to be careful with what I introduce into that temple. I could write about how this reminded me that
every day we wake up to face a new day, it’s a gift from God. Believe me, the older I get, this is not
something I take for granted.
But one of the most interesting things I found to note is
that, it seemed like everywhere I looked, every devotional book and sermon,
someone was speaking about the account of the disciples in the storm. Mark 4:37 states that “a great windstorm
arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.” The disciples are freaking out, and the next
verse tells us that Jesus was asleep.
Verse 39 can be so familiar that, if we aren’t careful, we are not
struck by the incredible awe of the moment; Jesus actually gets up, and says,
“Peace, be still” and subsequently there was a great calm.
Mark 4:40 gives us a rather puzzling response from Jesus. He tells His disciples, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” Someone must have raised an eyebrow, and said, “Well, that was scary; we thought we were going to die.” But the fact is, there was Someone in the boat who was in complete control of the situation. He had the power to calm the storm, after all. They needed to put their faith in Him. In Luke’s account of this, Jesus’ words are rendered, “Where is your faith” (Luke 8:25)?
This lesson was hammered home to me on more than one occasion: just like the disciples, Jesus will call me to a storm; this week was a time of extreme weakness, growing uncertainty, and intense pain. But, even in the midst of this, I’m to put my faith in Him, not give into fear. I am to remember His promise: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying this is easy. But it’s the right outlook, nevertheless.
Let me address this question that someone might be thinking. Is it possible that we may not even survive
the storm at all? Yes, it’s possible. We don’t like to think about it, but the
reality is, none of us knows how many sunrises we have left; only God knows. To be candid with you: I thought about
whether or not I would survive this recent storm. No, I wasn’t on the brink of death, but I was still very weak physically and thus such thoughts popped into my head. 1 Corinthians 15 says, “If in this life only
we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” The glorious truth is this: A Christian’s
hope goes beyond the grave. Because of
my faith in Jesus, I can look forward to the paradise in Heaven one day.
In conclusion, there is a song from the group Passion that came out this year. Every time I hear it, I resonate with it on a
deeply emotional level. On this most recent
hearing, as I finally begin to rejoin the land of the living, I sang out these
words of praise to God:
“In every high and every low, You never left me without
hope. You were good, and You’re good
right now. I’ve witnessed Your
faithfulness; I’ve seen You breathe life within. So I’ll pour out my praise again. You’re
worthy, God, You’re worthy of all of it.
Your promises never fail; I’ve got stories I’ll live to tell, so I’ll
pour out my praise again. You’re worthy,
God, You’re worthy of all of it” (lyrics from the song “I’ve witnessed it”).
God bless,
Kevin
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