Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”
And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” 2 Samuel 9:7 ESV
This verse paints a beautiful picture of the restoration of Mephibosheth, though he is not the focus of the story. Mephibosheth had been hiding in Lo Debar, because He was afraid that King David would want to kill him, since his grandfather, King Saul had tried to kill David. But instead, David remembered his best friend Jonathan, who was Mephibosheth’s father. In that same way, restoration in our lives begins because God promises to forget our sin, when He remembers that Jesus gave His life for us on Calvary.
Because of that friendship, Mephibosheth’s life was completely changed by the kindness of King David. First, David gave Mephibosheth everything that his grandfather King Saul had lost because of his sin. Then, instead of digging up past grievances, David invited Mephibosheth to come live in the palace with him and join him every night at the super table. While many of us admire wealthy and powerful people, few of us are ever invited to live on their estate or sit down and have dinner with them. But God invites us today to come to His house and sit at the table with Him. God is determined to do more than just bless us: He not only wants to be our closest friend, but He also offers to adopt us into His family! But we will never fully receive all that Jesus has in store until we return from our own Lo Debar, come and live in His house, and sit down at the table with Jesus every day for the rest of our life!
Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” Mark 4:38 NLT
When we read from the beginning of this story, we discover that the disciples ended up in the storm, not because they did something wrong but because Jesus told them to get in the boat. That whole day, Jesus stood on the shore teaching about the Kingdom of God in parables to tremendous crowds. As the sun was setting and the people began drifting towards their homes, Jesus asked the disciples to get in the boat. At this point Jesus is probably exhausted, and though He was God’s Son, He needed a nap. So, while the disciples manned the oars, Jesus lay down in the back of the boat and drifted off to sleep. Soon the wind picked up, clouds rolled in and before they knew it, they were in the middle of a storm. I picture the scene a bit like this:
Andrew: Hey Peter, He put you in charge. Why don’t you go back there and ask Him what to do.
Peter: No way! We can handle this bro and besides, Jesus needs his sleep.
John: Hey guys, the waves are coming in faster than I can bail them out. Let’s wake Him up!
Thomas: What’s the use? Jesus is a Rabbi, not a fisherman. I doubt He would be any help right now.
James: That’s it! I’m getting Jesus. If we don’t do something, we’re all going to drown!
Now the actual behind the scenes conversation may have been a little different, the outcome was the same. Somebody had to wake up Jesus before it was too late! Why do we wait for emergencies to wake up Jesus? Oh, I know that Jesus is always awake in Heaven. But what happens is that the Christ who lives inside us falls asleep, because we get so wrapped up in the busyness of our lives. The endless search for entertainment, comfort and success leaves very little space for Jesus Christ. Like the disciples, we think we are the professionals when it comes to sailing our own boats. We don’t want to bother Him, because we think that He must have more important things to do. Just like the disciples, we allow Jesus to doze in the back of the boat until it becomes a life-or-death situation, and we are about to drown. But Jesus is always there and we can come and ask for help at any time. Are you in a storm today? Is Jesus sleeping in your boat? Don’t be afraid to wake Him. He might correct us, He might even rebuke our attitudes and motives, but He will never allow us to drown. Jesus wants to command our hearts just as He commanded the wind and waves, and when He takes control, there is no storm in the universe that can sink our little boat!
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