Do you ever feel like the God is sleeping during your toughest challenges, do your circumstances offer little hope?
Matthew 8:23–27: “When He (Jesus) got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.
And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you afraid (δειλός deilos; cowardly, fearful:—afraid), you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked (to reprove, verb. — to admonish or warn forcefully (as expressing strong disapproval) the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
All of creation obeys the commands of Christ & the indwelling Holy Spirit in all believers (Romans 8:9)! Despite our perception, the eternally attentive God hardens people’s heart, as well as speaks, & acts thru them according to His desires.
Romans 8:9: “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
Whether you’re joyous or momentarily terrified, seek Jesus’s guidance & protection in everything!
Ponderings:
- When have you felt like God was absent from or quiet in your life?
- What were the circumstances?
- Did you feel as if you were about to perish physically, emotionally, or spiritually?
- How did you respond?
- How did God respond?
- What was the time intervals of your response and God’s response?
- How does this affect your faith?
- How does this affect your ability to encourage others in seemingly desperate circumstances?
Adversity either softens us with godly attributes such as grace, hope, encouragement, and empathy or hardens our heart with bitterness and lacking the above godly attributes.
- We become like the whomever we seek during these trials.
- How has/did various adversity affect you?
- How will you respond in future challenges with God seemingly quiet leaving little apparent hope of surviving?
- What advice would you give to others who are experiencing moments when it seems as if God is silent in their life?