THEY THOUGHT THEY KNEW HIM

22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!" St. Luke 8:22-25 (NKJV)

Have you ever considered allowing a Bible Story to run through your mind in a picture form? Why not try this one. You have a choice, a movie or a slide show. The program begins with Jesus stepping into the boat with His disciples and they cast off, rowing to the other side of the lake. As the picture goes through your mind, you can almost sense the calm waters of the lake, and you feel the gentle rock of the boat, slowly helping you to put your head down and fall asleep. There is Jesus sleeping soundly when suddenly, the winds change, the velocity increases, the boat rocks, the waves jump over the sides of the boat, and everyone is getting wet. But look, Jesus is still sleeping. As the frames of the picture continue, you watch the disciples becoming more and more afraid.

Fearing for their lives, the disciples rush over to Jesus and, in my movie, I see them shaking his shoulders, calling to Him with a sense of panic as they fear death, "MASTER, MASTER, WAKE UP!" Then you see Jesus calmly get up, spread His arms wide over the water and you hear Him say, "Peace Be Still." (This particular account in St. Luke says "He rebuked the wind and the waves," but what I used, I like better in my personal mind movie of this story.)

As we watch, Jesus turns to the disciples and we hear Him say to them, "Where is your faith?" As the last pictures go by, we watch the disciples, faces filled with fear, and voices filled with questions because of the wonder they had just seen. As the last picture fades, the scene is similar to the closing scenes of a LONE RANGER movie, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!" Oh yes, this movie in my mind had a title: "THEY WALKED WITH HIM, BUT THEY DIDN’T KNOW HIM."

Now, go through these scenes again with these changes:

* Only you and Jesus are in the boat

 

* Replace the winds and the water with whatever problems threaten your boat and place you in jeopardy.

You may worship Jesus, you may read the Bible, you may teach Sunday School, you may even be a Pastor, but until you turn to Him and place every ounce of faith (trust) in Him, you really won’t know Him.

WE PRAY: Lord, why am I so stubborn. Why do I try to solve all of my problems by myself instead of coming to you? Why do I seek advice from so many other people, both friends and professionals, instead of first coming to you? Help me, Lord. Amen

A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTIONAL

The only way you can know God is to give Him the opportunity to show you how much He can do for you. Instead of waiting for the big crisis in your life, each day take a small problem to God. Just a hint, when you ask something of God, also ask Him to send the Holy Spirit upon you to help you hear and recognize God’s answers. As God acts in your life, you may be just as surprised as the disciples and say, "I thought I did, but I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW HIM."