How Much Do You Trust Jesus? …….. Mark 4:35-41

Jesus was in the boat fast asleep, a furious squall came up and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?”

In our lives we all go through our own personal storms, it’s how we deal with it when we are in those storms. Do we turn to Jesus or try to deal with it ourselves? As Joyce Meyer says, “Do you go to the phone, or go to the Throne?”

I recently heard of a lady who had cancer, when asked if she had a faith, she said “I did have but now I don’t”.  She lost her faith during her battle with cancer. None of us know how we would manage in the same circumstance.  When we go through these storms, life can be very disorientating and irrational, we have choices to make! We can reject Jesus, ignore Him or accept Him. Psalm 55:22 says, “cast your burdens onto the Lord and He will sustain you, He will never let the righteous be shaken”.

 I have recently been going through a very stormy time and I can honestly say that that it has drawn me closer to Jesus.  Sometimes when we are seeking a physical healing and it does not happen, we ask why? It’s something we don’t always understand. Through this storm I have learnt to invite Jesus into my storm. In the storms our faith is challenged and strengthened. I know for myself I have felt a real trust and peace knowing that Jesus is my strength.

One morning I prayed “Lord, I don’t even know if you are listening to my prayers”. Within the hour I had a text from a friend whom I had not spoken to in years. The text said, “God has told me to tell you that you are in a spiritual battle”. This oddly enough was encouraging because it helped explain what was going on in my life, and how to direct my prayers.

God will answer our prayers, not always in the way we want but, on this occasion, it was perfect timing. When going through storms in our lives it is a time to cry out to Jesus, he will answer you. In Word for Today it says: “so instead of denying reality or trying to white knuckle your way through it, realise that the Lord is with you and draw from Him the strength you need”. David in the Psalms said “I know the Lord is with me always. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.” We must not forget that David was a man of flesh and blood just like any of us, so let us turn our eyes upon Jesus and look to his wonderful face.

John Gaul Johnandlorrainegaul@hotmail.co.uk St Marys Callington