Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – John 1-2
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Mark 6:50
Jesus (immediately calling out): Don’t be frightened. Do you see? It is I.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
So, today we have another familiar story. Jesus sends His disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat while He stays to prayer for a while. Then in the middle of the night as the disciples are battling yet another storm that comes up on the sea, Jesus leaves His place of prayer and decides to join His team. They are already afraid because of the storm, and Jesus figures the fastest way to get to the other side is to take a shortcut across the water.
The disciples look through the spray of the waves and the rain and see a figure in the mist. It looks like Jesus, but no one can walk on the water, so it must be a ghost. They do what most people do when they are afraid. They cower below the boat rail and pretend that if they can’t see the apparition , the the apparition can’t see them. That works, right? It’s like soldiers. Every soldier, including me, complains about digging a foxhole. You need a backhoe to dig one deep enough to really do the job right. That is unless the enemy is firing at you, then you can dig one with a spoon about twice as big as you really need it and about twice as fast as you think you can. If bullets are coming my way, I want them way over my head. To be honest with you, I don’t particularly want to poke my head up to see the whites of the enemies’ eyes, either.
So the disciples did what any of us would do when faced with something scary. They curled up in a ball and made themselves as small as they could in the hope they couldn’t be seen. Find the next guy, not me. None stood tall and leaned over the rail with their chest puffed out daring whatever or whoever that was out there to come on in. None were ready to take on this water-walker. They were afraid.
That’s why I like the words Mark records for us. “Don’t be frightened. Do you see? It is I.” Do you see? No, I’ve got my head buried under the blanket. I’m trying to be invisible to whatever you are. I’m trying not to be seen so how can I see? Do you see? I’m trying my best to keep my eyes closed as tight as I can get them so maybe that thing out on the water will go away. Do you see? What do you think I’m made of? I’m flesh and blood, I don’t know what you are. You can walk on water. I’m scared to death!
When I read those words of Jesus and thought about the natural response we have to fear, it dawned on me that we are just like those disciples in the boat. To many times, Jesus heads our way and we can see Him. But we are afraid of what’s next. We are afraid of what He might say, what He might do, what He might demand. We are afraid so we don’t look up. We let Satan blind us and we shut our eyes, cover our heads with a blanket, cower in the bottom of the boat. We hide thinking if we can’t see Jesus, then maybe He can’t see us either. We’re afraid of Him.
But Jesus says, “Don’t be frightened. Do you see?” Can you exercise just enough faith to open your eyes and see Me? Can you poke your head up above the rail just enough to recognize Me and see that I can do miraculous things in your life if you’ll let Me? Will you take the blanket off your head and see that I can help you, that I can calm the storms in your life, that I can bring peace to your troubled heart?
Satan wants us to keep our eyes closed. Oh, he’ll tell us that we are wise, just like he told Adam and Eve. They learned otherwise. He’ll tell us the One out there on the water is something to be feared, something other worldly, something impossible to exist. But if we will just sneak a glimpse of the Man who beckons us, we will find we don’t need to be frightened.
We will see Him walk out of the mist that the world tries to cloud Him in and we will recognize Him for who He is. We will see that Jesus is the Son of the living God. We will see that He can forgive our sins, fill us with His Spirit, and enable us to live the life He calls us to live. We will see the fog roll away and know that Jesus wants to do incredible things for and through us if we will just poke our heads above the railing. Or if we brave enough, like Peter to step out of the boat, we can be part of some wondrous water walking experiences of God’s hand at work all around us.
Don’t be frightened. Don’t you see? It is Jesus.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.