Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
When you think about demonstrations of unusual power what comes to your mind? Weightlifting Olympic competitions, or bomb explosions, or heavy earth moving equipment, or maybe natural disasters such as tornadoes, or typhoons, or volcanoes?
In our journey with Jesus in God’s “Grand Narrative” we watched yesterday as Jesus selected 12 men, from among His many admirers, to come apart from the crowds and follow Jesus, learning every day more and more about WHO Jesus really is and WHAT His earthly mission was.
It appears shortly after that selection Jesus led those disciples through several experiences which demonstrated Jesus’ unlimited power as God the Son incarnate here on earth. Mark 4:35-41 tells us Jesus invited these 12 men to join Him on a brief trip across Lake Galilee. 13 men could not fit in one boat, so it appears they took two or more fishing boats. (Mark 4:36) After only a short while, a sudden storm came up on the lake. (Mark 4:37) Mark describes that frightening experience this way: “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boats so that they were nearly swamped.”
While the Sea of Galilee is relatively small, 13 miles long and 8 miles wide at its widest point, storms can rise up very quickly there, turning that little lake into a terrifying place for those in small fishing boats. This event is recorded also in Matt. 8:23-27 and Luke 8:22-25.
Amazingly, as their boats were rocked by the ferocious wind and waves, Jesus was asleep on a cushion in the stern of one of the boats!! The frightened disciples awakened Jesus asking for help. In fact, some said “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” I wonder if you have some people in your family or network of relationships who overly dramatize certain situations or at least overreact sometimes? Most of these disciples were seasoned fishermen and this lake was their home, yet at least some of them were terrified in this storm.
Pause for reflection. Have you and I come to the point in our maturity that we can view unexpected challenges or problems in our lives as opportunities for God to show His mighty power, or are we fairly easily overwhelmed by things we can’t control? Jesus, awakened from His nap, got up and seeing the storm simply spoke TO THE STORM saying: “Be quiet! Be still!” (Mark 4:39)
All three Gospel writers tell us the storm abruptly stopped; the lake grew calm and Jesus looked at His disciples saying: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40) Oh my, those words challenge us to look inward and deeply, don’t they?
* What awakens FEAR in you and me?
* How do we respond to fear?
* What are our tactics for calming our fears, especially fear that is nearly paralyzing?
* What does such fear tell us about the authenticity and the depth of our faith, that God knows our situation and is right there to help us?
None of the three Gospel writers tell us there was much of a response from these men who had just been selected by Jesus to start spending full time with Him. Instead, Mark reports this: “The disciples were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!” (Mark 4:41) Aha! That was the point, wasn’t it, my friends?
As Jesus began His mentoring journey with these 12 ordinary guys, THIS was the most important question they each would need to wrestle with. These men had no idea at that moment, but in the future their lives would depend on their answer to THAT question. For each of them, they would be confronted with violent, angry people who would demand that they deny the claims of Jesus, or deny that Jesus is the Christ, or deny their relationship with Jesus… or DIE!
This miracle was unique in the early days of the disciples’ adventure with Jesus, can you see why? Oh, prior to this some of them had witnessed Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding;(John 2:1-11); and some had watched Jesus heal a crippled man (Mark 2:1-12); and some had seen Jesus cast a demon out of a man in the Synagogue. (Mark 1:21-27) But none had ever seen anyone, including Jesus, calm a ferocious storm with only a few words! That was a power even over nature itself! This may have also been the first miracle all 12 disciples experienced together with Jesus. A few minutes later, as they rowed their boats on that perfectly calm Lake Galilee, each of those men wrestled with what they had seen. What did it prove to them about Jesus?
I invite you and me to pause and reflect back over our lives. What fear defeating things have you and I experienced in our lives, which can only be explained as miracles of God, and how do you and I understand God did it? How did it affect your life? How do those miraculous events shape your understanding of and relationship with Jesus? Are you and I entering 2026 expecting we will likely experience some God sent miracles this year? How are we positioning ourselves, so we won’t miss recognizing God at work in our lives?
In my journey, my friends, I’ve found two great antidotes to fear, even paralyzing fear.
First EXPERIENCE. These 12 ordinary guys had just experienced something with Jesus that they would never forget. More than that, whenever in the future they found themselves in a fearful situation they could reach back to this experience and hold tightly to the fact that this very same Jesus, who had selected them, and been in the boat with them, and stilled the storm with only words, was still their Master and could handle ANYTHING!
The second powerful antidote that has helped me is TRUTH. I’ve memorized many verses of Scripture which are God’s TRUTH and when I quote them to myself, and hold tightly to them in fearful situations, the Holy Spirit emboldens me and defeats fear. Here are just a few of those types of verses:
* Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
* Psalm 9:9,10 “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.”
Now, what other powerful, fear defeating Scriptures have you memorized that you can add to this list and use as a weapon of God’s TRUTH against fear the next time?
Oh my, we have a lot to consider today don’t we and I urge us to add the “Lessons Learned” statements in the “Grand Narrative” link below. I also urge you, my friends, to start a ‘wisdom journal’, if you don’t have one already. A journal where you can keep track of ‘wisdom lessons’ you are learning in 2026 with Jesus, maybe starting with some from today!!
And as always, a great worship song is at the link below and I’ll be here waiting for you tomorrow as we continue ‘Walking with Jesus’.
Today’s Scripture: Mark 4:35-41.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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