Daily Devotion | Day 275
“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’” (Mark 4:37-38, NKJV).
The Apostles had had enough. The storm wouldn’t cease. Initially, they probably tried to let out as much water as they could. At first, they didn’t want to bother the Master who was taking a nap. But all their maneuvering proved futile. The storm only grew fierce. Now their boat was filling up with water. They knew what that meant: The end was near.
But wait, there was one more thing. During this whole time the Teacher (Jesus) was asleep. The noise from the storm didn’t seem to disturb His sleep. The Gospel writer added an important detail. Jesus wasn’t just sleeping. He was comfortably resting on a pillow – in the middle of the storm.
When all their efforts failed, the Apostles turned to the sleeping Teacher. They awoke Him and poured their frustration on Him: “Teacher,” they said, “do You not care that we are perishing?” A Friend who sleeps during your period of crisis certainly doesn’t appear to be the caring type.
Up to this time, the Apostles had confidence in their Master. He was there when they needed Him. But today is different. Today, the Master sleeps when they need Him the most. This was the one day they doubted that their beloved Teacher cared: “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
All crisis is not the same. Some are more severe than others. Some problems you can easily manage and ultimately overcome. But there are times when problems come at you with the intensity of the waves of the sea, and you can feel overwhelmed. In these moments, you hope you can use some divine intervention. But all you hear from heaven is silence. It feels like God is asleep.
Then you begin to wonder if He cares. When this feeling persists long enough, in some people it can reach a tipping point where they begin to wonder: Does God even exist? Perhaps you’ve had your own moments where you wondered if God cares or is who He says He is.
Moments when it seems God is ‘asleep,’ remember (and this may shock you): God doesn’t do everything for you; not because He can’t, but because He has already given you the wisdom, the will and the ability to handle the problem. Your prayer shouldn’t be, “Lord, don’t you care? Please, do something.” Rather, you want to pray, “Lord, I know you care. Show me what I am missing here.” And listen attentively, He will illuminate you about how you ought to proceed. You will marvel at how suddenly you begin to see a clear path and an open door before you.
Take the following example:
One day the Israelites were caught between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. It was overwhelming. They felt it was a mistake to leave Egypt. They also felt JEHOVAH was not who He said He was. Moses was under immense pressure, so he cried to God. Now listen to what God told him, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.”
Did you catch that? God wanted Moses to stop crying to Him; not because He didn’t want to help, but because He had given Moses the ability he needed to take care of the problem. God didn’t say, “Wait, I’m going to divide the Red Sea for you.” Rather, He told Moses to go ahead and take care of the problem using his rod.
Understand that God has made you His partner. He has shared His power, wisdom and glory with you. When you feel like He is silent or ‘asleep,’ it doesn’t mean He doesn’t care. It means it’s time for you to act by faith in God’s Name.
Blessing: May your light shine and overcome all powers of darkness in your life. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
For further study: 2 Kings 2:1-14
Higher-Self Realities 