Our Questions and His
Scripture Reading: Mark 4:35-41
On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Whether we have verbalized it or not, in moments of peril, we may have wondered with the disciples, “Lord, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Frank Graeff’s old hymn bears the title “Does Jesus Care,” and parses that out in four verses, the second of which asks:
Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?
Each verse of the hymn is answered in the affirmative:
O Yes, He cares, I know He cares
His heart is touched by my grief.
When the days are weary, and the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior Cares.
Notice in our text, that the disciples aren’t the only ones asking questions. Jesus, after dealing with the storm, has His own questions to ask. “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
This gets to the heart of the issue, doesn’t it? Our questions about the loving concern of Jesus are less about Him than they are about us. They point, not to a weakness in Jesus' love, but a flaw in our faith.
May God build up our faith so that we can sing, “I know my Savior cares,” as we sail through the storms of life.
