Overcoming the Waves

Mark 1:17-19
17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.
19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

Have you ever noticed how Peter, Andrew, James, and John just dropped everything when Christ told them to come? There was no questioning, no doubt, no fear. He said to follow Him and they did. How many of us would just drop everything and walk out of our jobs when some guy walks by and says "follow me." Not many I think.

I find it even more amusing that it is later, after they had seen His power, that they began to worry and question what was going on. That seems to be our nature. When we first come to Christ we are filled with excitement to walk with Him, yet as time goes on and problems arise we worry. At first we are fearless, we will drop everything and leave it all behind to follow the Lord, but then "reality" sets in and doubts creep up.

How will I ever get through this? How do I prepare for this? Will I ever find a new job? How will the bills get paid? Will the children be alright?

And we start planning and budgeting, yet the more we prepare the worse our anxieties get. But God's Word tells us there is no need to worry. Did Jesus no tell us that God will provide and care for the grass in the field and the sparrows in the sky, yet He cares for us even more than them. Was it not Christ who fed the multitudes with only five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:17)? Surely He will provide even still.

The disciples had seen Jesus cast out demons, heal the sick, and raise the dead first hand, yet they panicked when a storm surrounded their boat (Matthew 8:24-25). We are much the same. I have seen some amazing things done by Christ, even in my own life, yet I still fearfully cry out "Lord, help! I'm going to drown!" Is the God that raised Lazarus not strong enough for my problems? Certainly He is! But if I let my flesh control my response to a rough situation I panic. It is my nature to do so. It is my nature to try and solve my problems myself, but if I stop and realize God has His hand in all of it I can relax. As I study His Word that I gain the understanding that He is with me, He will not forsake me, that I begin to fear the waves less.


Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.