Carest not that we perish

Carest not that we perish?

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Copyright Š 2014, MOAMFJ. Clipart Courtesy, Microsoft Office 2010.

Reference : Mark 4:35-41  The human mind is set to perceive negative outcomes and imaginations. When crisis comes it is very easy to expect the worst possible outcome.  For example, Verse 38

 Yet people of faith have hope!

For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 2 Cor. 5:7 KJV  Jesus’ response to the crisis at hand is instructive of how His mind works. Fear and lack of faith have no hold on Him. It is the crisis that qualifies to test our faith because it scrutinizes the degree to which hope has filtered into our being.

 Consider, verse 40

Faith breeds hope (Hebrews 11:1)  Faith is also certain of the unseen. It is impossible to have hope without also having faith. If when crises come hope evacuates the premises then that person’s faith becomes questionable.

What cannot birth faith!

1. TRADITION over the Word of God Mark 7:24-30 The Syno Phoenician woman had to forsake her pagan traditions in order to approach a Jewish Rabbi for help. Had she continued to embrace her past traditions the help she needed would have been unavailable.

2. IMPOSSIBILITY over the probable Luke 9:10-17 This is an issue of statistics. Many live with impossibility simply because it has statistics in its favour.

What cannot birth faith!

3. HARD HEARTEDNESS preventing remembrance, understanding and discernment Mark 8:11-21 By focusing on the wrong issue the faith of the disciples could not grow as the Lord intended. Thus for them everything became a crisis even when they forgot to replenish the bread stores for the day’s journey. When we focus on the wrong things we also can make a crisis out of the littlest things!

A failure to remember past victories and miracles comes from hard heartedness. A failure to understand God’s ways is also due to hard heartedness.

The inability to perceive what God’s intentions are in a given scenario is also the result of hard heartedness.

Even when the crisis was averted the disciples could not grasp the critical issue (Mark 4:41). What they took away from the crisis was a far cry from what Christ wanted them to learn.

Matters of fear and faith!

What do people fear? Matthew 6:34

People fear the future! Because the future is unseen and unknown people are afraid. There are 2 types of fear regarding the future:  Survival fear Matthew 6:25  Worth fear Matthew 6:28

Survival fear

This is the fear that is concerned about life and death issues. Survival fear focuses on food, drink, sickness and health.

Worth fear

Worth fear is concerned about how to make one’s mark during one’s lifetime. Worth fear focuses on acquiring resources because worth is falsely derived from possessions and acquisitions.

So when crises hit people basically ask one of two questions: 1. Am I going to die?

2. If not, how much will I lose?

Consider

The first question clearly captured the full imagination of the disciples (Mark 4:38). Even with the crisis averted terror still gripped them. Fear virtually suffocated faith. Fear controlled them and masterminded their responses. Fear left little room for faith to breathe.

Consider

God’s approach to the future is to inform man of what is coming. He then leaves it up to man to choose how to respond to this revealed information. Exactly what God said is exactly what will be. There is therefore no room for fear – simply alter your now to be ready for God’s future.

Riding out the storm

Mark 4:38 Faith enabled Christ to ride out the storm. Faith coupled with hope helps a person expect there to be life after the crisis. Faith and hope put crises in proper perspective knowing that prevailing conditions will likely change. Fear believes that the storm is the problem. For Christ asleep in the boat the storm was a temporary condition, but it was not a problem.

In God’s world a problem is a permanent state. Since the storm was transient it was not a problem for God. The storm by nature was temporary , affecting a small geographic location, capable of doing a fixed amount of damage and once passed easily forgotten. In the universal scope of things this storm is not a problem.

In a crisis man feels a strong urge to do something, anything! In this crisis Jesus chose to catch up on some sleep. Why? Because unlike us He felt no need to do something.

Upon being awoken, He still felt no urge to act. Why?

Because the variables of this storm, like any other storm, were preset by God. It was simply an issue of riding out the storm.

Life applications 1. Here’s a question a primary school pupil asked a parent.

Question: If God knew the future and that evil would come about, why did He create us?

Answer: How can we extrapolate past knowledge to answer this question? Simple! Evil is like the storm. God has already punched in the constants controlling the variability of evil in today’s world. To further demonstrate how great is His control over evil, Christ can afford to take a seat while evil prevails (Ephesians 1:1823). Like the storm, evil in our world is temporary with

Life applications

fixed limits. Just as the Earth’s position in space is fixed. Evil cannot go where it wants. When we say Christ is Lord over all that is what we mean. When we say God is in control that is what we mean. Everything is subject to Him. Everything obeys Him!

Life applications 2. Question: So you are in a long crisis that seems to have no end?

Answer: Your crisis is like the storm. God has already preset the conditions of your crisis. Now faith is needed to ride out the storm. The storm must be endured. Learn from it. Fretting cannot alter the conditions and fear will only terrorize you. So enjoy the journey and ride out the storm. It can’t last. It must end! Keep faith and hope alive! Know God’s intentions.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 KJV.

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3 KJV