- And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them… Mark 6:48 – After a long stent of exhausting ministry work, and a day filled with the miraculous, Jesus sent His disciples out across the sea by themselves and would rejoin them after He spent some time with the Father. The disciples were struggling on the journey due to the wind and the waves, then suddenly they see Jesus walking on the water. After being terrified He comforts them, gets in the boat, and the wind ceases. Yet did you notice that last phrase in the verse? “He meant to pass by them.” Jesus wasn’t planning on stopping and getting into the boat, He was just going to meet them on the other side of the sea. What does that teach us? That when we encounter the winds and the waves during our time of being obedient to the Lord’s direction, that His plan may be for us to go through them. For He told the disciples to set sail, knowing the weather they’d face. He saw them struggling with the waves, He saw them navigating all this exhausted and late into the night, yet He was going to pass by them. This isn’t a demonstration of Jesus’ carelessness for our struggle, but a reality check that struggles are going to be commonplace in our following of Jesus. His plan for you may be to have you remain in this season of hard for a while longer, or He may get in your boat right now and calm the storms immediately. In both Jesus is holy in His decision, and in both you will be taken care of. Do not then let the presence, and continued presence, of storms convince you that Jesus is far from you or that you’re out of His will. You may be exactly where you are supposed to be and He is walking through those storms alongside you even if you can’t see Him clearly at this time. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3097
- And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. Mark 6:6 – Don’t be discouraged when even after you have shared all you can someone still chooses to not follow Jesus. Here in our passage we have Jesus in his hometown where people knew Him best, he was teaching, and even healing their sick. Yet, it says they took offense at Him and Jesus marveled at their unbelief. We see here that there will be times that people will just reject the hope and love of Jesus even when the whole message is shared with them. Realize it’s not because the message isn’t good enough, it’s just they are choosing something lesser than Jesus. For you though, don’t let that discourage you from sharing. We see Jesus, even with that negative experience, continuing to go to villages and share His love. Make sure a bad experience of sharing the Gospel doesn’t stop you from future sharing. While some won’t accept it, it still stands as the message the world needs to hear and that message needs people sharing it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 461
- The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Mark 6:30-31 – Jesus approves of rest. Yes the mission is ours to take on and the harvest is abundant and the work is needing to be done, but Jesus never said we can’t find time to rest and be refilled. If we never take time to be poured into how can we keep pouring out into others when we run out? What then is a fill for you? Time outside, a nap, coffee with a friend, playing piano, dinner out with your spouse – all these things and more are things Jesus would encourage you to do if they fill you so you can pour out better later on. Keep this in mind too, the busier you are the more time you should invest in these sort of things. If our purpose in life is to tell people about Jesus, know we do it better when we are rested and full. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1615
Daily DEVO 