VICTORY OVER STORMS
MEMORY VERSE
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the
LORD delivereth him out of them all.
Psalm 34:19
READ
Mark 4:35-41
Mark 4:35 And the
same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the
other side.
Mark 4:36 And when
they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And
there were also with him other little ships.
Mark 4:37 And there
arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was
now full.
Mark 4:38 And he
was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and
say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
Mark 4:39 And he
arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the
wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Mark 4:40 And he
said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
Mark 4:41 And they
feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that
even the wind and the sea obey him?
MESSAGE
In 2 Kings
4:18-26, we read of how a rich benevolent woman, who sowed so much into the
life of a man of God, had her barrenness broken, and of how that son later died
but was raised back to life. One lesson we learn here is that the fact that you
have God does not mean that there will be no crisis in your life. Problems are
part of life for everyone irrespective of religious beliefs. If anyone tells
you that the moment you become a Christian there will be no more problems, the
fellow is lying to you. That you were saved means that you have escaped from
Satan's prison. A Nigerian proverb says “It is right for a slave to escape, and also right for
the slave owner to pursue his slave”. The difference between a Christian and a
non-Christian here is that in times of storms, you already have the Prince of
Peace with you. With just a word from Him, the storm will cease. Psalm 34:19
says,
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous:
but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
Some believers
think that if you are in God's will or if you obey God's instructions - for
instance in taking a particular individual as your spouse in marriage, you will
never have issues. This is not true. The truth is: when problems come on
account of obeying God, you can confidently return to Him and ask Him to take
care of it.
In John 16:33,
Jesus says in spite of your trouble be joyful because His victory over the
world will secure your victory over that situation. If you look carefully at
Isaiah 43:2, you will understand that we must go through fires and rivers. If
God will use you for His greater purpose and glory, then you must be prepared
to go through not only the rivers, but also the fire, but there will be no
reason to fear because He will be with you. The fire will not consume you but
it will be an instrument of purifying you. Jesus was in the same boat with His
disciples and yet the storm arose (Mark 4:34-41). That He is in your boat does
not insure you against storms but that your boat will never sink. The Prince of
Peace is with you. Your victory is certain.
KEY POINT
Just as problems
are bound to come, because you have Jesus, you too are bound to overcome. It's
a balanced equation.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
0 comments:
Post a Comment