Your Undivided Attention

~~~ John 4:11-18 ~~~ Psalm 72 ~~~ Mark 6: 45-52 ~~~

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

Jesus sends the disciples ahead of him
 while he stays behind to dismiss the crowd he has just fed.

Earlier the disciples had urged him to leave.
He would not be swayed by their arguments
of not having enough food for the crowd.

Maybe Jesus just needed some alone time...
time to communicate with his Father in private.

Perhaps he himself was surprised that his blessing alone
 kept the baskets flowing with bread and fish.
Mark makes no mention of the disciples
being amazed by the continuous supply of bread and fish.

The disciples do as Jesus asks and leave by boat
 for the other side of the sea.
The seas become turbulent, the winds are growing stronger.

The waves are tossing the disciples' boat up and down.
They are struggling just to keep rowing to make it to the far side.
They are tired and weary. It has been a long day.
Where is Jesus when they need him most?
I think we can all say we have been
in that very place in our life.

Suddenly Jesus is casually walking on the water
 toward them and Mark adds,
He meant to pass by them. 
Why would he want to pass them by?
Perhaps his walking on the water was some indication of his divinity.
But why would he just pass by them in their time of distress?
Maybe he thought they were too occupied
with their own struggle
to even notice he was near them.

Maybe some of us can honestly admit we have been
 in that place as well.

But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” 

Now Jesus had their undivided attention.
'It's me, Jesus, calm down, take a deep breath.
He tells them not to be afraid and gets into the boat with them.
And, yes, as soon as he got into the boat
the seas calmed down.

If the disciples were not impressed
 by the miracle of the loaves and fishes;
they were impressed now.
From then on they would take Jesus more seriously.

I know it may sound corny, but you've
 just gotta have Jesus in the boat with you.

That is the only way to weather the storms of life.
Even if you feel God intends to pass you by
in reality it is never the case.

Blessings of courage;
believe Jesus will never pass you by.