HIS FAITHFUL FRIENDSHIP
How it must grieve our Lord when we forget His past victories in our lives, all His miracles of deliverance. He has called us His friends (see John 15:15), yet in our crises we often forget all about His faithful friendship. This is why Jesus warned the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees (in Mark 8). He told them, in essence, “If you come to Me with hard questions, don’t expect Me to answer if you have a heart of unbelief. You’re to come to Me with trust and faith, believing I am One greater than Solomon.”
In Mark 4:35-41, the disciples were again crossing a lake. This time, “There arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full” (Mark 4:37). Waves flooded the boat, and the frantic disciples rushed to bail out the rising water. These were experienced fishermen, and they soon saw that their lives were in danger. They quickly awoke Jesus, who’d been asleep at the back of the boat, and cried, “Master, we’re going down!”
As I see Jesus being awakened, my flesh wants Him to encourage the disciples: “I’m so glad you woke Me. This is serious. You poor brothers, I’m sorry I let you endure this storm for so long. Forgive Me for not acting sooner. Hopefully, you didn’t think I was unconcerned about your crisis.”
No, Jesus’ reaction was just the opposite. He rebuked the disciples! “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Imagine what those men thought in that moment: “Did Jesus really expect us to stand in water up to our waists and have no fear? This is the worst storm we’ve ever faced. Waves are pouring in, the ship’s about to sink. Were we supposed to practice faith in a seemingly hopeless situation?”
The answer is: Yes, absolutely! Jesus was testing their faith. He wanted to know, “Will these followers trust Me in the face of death? Will they cling to their belief in Me?” In the flesh, Christ may have been asleep, but He was also God, and the Lord never sleeps: “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4).