The Other Side - Part 2

Text: Mark 4:35-41

Traveling is fun and exciting.  You have the anticipation of the trip and what it will be like.  You have the preparation of packing and planning.  Then comes the trip itself.  At each of these stages comes great joy and marvelous apprehension.  The fear of the unknown and the unexpected can creep in and cause paralysis to point of cancellation for some of us, but most of us push through or don't even recognize our fear and get in the car, plane, train, or boat and head out for the great unknown.

What helps many of us in preparating is to study the area we are going to and the journey that will take us there.  We map it all out.  We plan our stops around scenic points or favorite restaurants.  We are going to make the journey part of the trip.  We enjoy getting there as much as being there.

When God calls us to go to the "other side" however, we can't exactly plan our trip like this.  In some cases we don't know where the "other side" really is or how we are going to get there, we just know that God has called us to go.  In other cases we know full well where there is and we don't like the idea of going or the path that getting there is going to take.

Look at this:
"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, 'Let us go over to the other side.' Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?'
"He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
"He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'
"They were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'" Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)

These guys were fisherman, many of them.  They grew up fishing on the Sea of Galilee.  They knew these storms and many of them had been caught in one at one point or other.

They also "knew" Jesus, or so they thought.  They had seen him cast out demons and heal the sick.  They had already heard His teachings, yet they still didn't comprehend or believe. This leads to the age old question:
Is believing seeing or seeing believing?

Let me pause here for a moment, Jesus was in the boat with them.  He was at peace because He knew that it wasn't His time yet.  If Jesus is in your boat and your life is swamped - if you feel like life is out of control and you are following God and His plan to go the other side - then rest assured that you are going to make it.  See Jesus wasn't sent to die in a boat, He was destined to die on a cross.  In our lives Jesus is risen, never to die again.  If He is with us then we won't sink or capsize or drown.  He will see to it that we make it to the "other side".

Some times the journey isn't an easy sail across the lake.  It isn't tiptoeing through the tulips.  It isn't a nice drive across town.  It is fraught with many perils and dangers.  It is filled with spirit crushing events. See our enemy, Satan, wants to demoralize us before we ever get there.  He doesn't want us to make it there alive, physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually.  He will do whatever it takes to stop us from making it to the other side whole and intact.

Here comes the encouragement for all of us, "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." Mark 4.39

"Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world." 1 John 4.4

Our Savior and Lord, the One who is planning and leading this trip to the "other side", is greater than the one opposing us. We will make the trip to the other side.  We will see God show up in an amazing way and do something that only He can do.  We will see the glory of the Father revealed in and through us as we make this journey to the "other side".

Don't let fear of the unknown paralyze you from making the trip to the "other side" this year.  Don't let the storms of life cause you to lose heart and go back.  Don't let life drowned out the passion and desire to live for God totally and completely.  Don't stop making the journey to the "other side" because God has a task for you.  He has a role for you to play.  He has Himself to reveal to the people and lands of the "other side" and He wants to do it through you.

Prayer: Lord, would you please help me! I am drowning in life.  I am overwhelmed to the point of death with fear and trembling.  I feel like I'm going under for the last time, but I know the truth in my head that You are with me.  I know the reality is that You are more powerful, help me to live it out and believe it in my heart.  Please help me to not be so afraid and to walk in faith.  I want to see You glorified and magnified among the people who live on the "other side". Amen.

Journey or Destination?

"The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of the bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn't burn up. Moses said, 'What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?' God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, 'Moses! Moses!' He said, 'Yes? I'm right here!' God said, 'Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground.' Then he said, 'I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.' Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God." Exodus 3.2-6 (MSG)

As a kid I always loved getting to where we were going. As a father, I now know why my dad never wanted to stop and see the snow in Kentucky when we were going further north, "And there will be snow in Columbus." I want to get there and get there quickly. I don't want to mess around with the details of the journey. I want to get there as soon as possible, with as few stops and detours as possible.

Ever felt this way? Hurry up and get there? I want to have arrived.

It makes me think about a guy named Moses who had a taken a lot of steps with God. I'm sure that when he was tending the sheep of his father-in-law on the back side of nowhere he was thinking, "How did I get here? Where did I go wrong?" He was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh. He was destined for greatness. He had a good heart toward his people, the Israelites. But something happened that caused him to end up in the middle of nowhere.

His journey didn't begin at the burning bush with God, but rather at his birth. But the burning bush is where we see that he finally acknowledges God on the journey. The steps that Moses took toward God were humble, tentative, fearful. He removed his sandals in the presence of God. He removed the hindrances and blockages between his feet and his Master. He showed reverence for the holiness of God.

Walking with God requires both a familiarity and a reverence. It requires humility and boldness - curiosity and fear.

What is the destination? Where are when we have finally arrived? Heaven. And the whole point of Heaven is God. So the journey is the destination. God is the point of this journey. The beautiful thing is that we have Him with us every day. I am reminded this season of His name, Emmanuel - God WITH us. We miss Him so many times. We get wrapped up in our plans and the final destination of arriving that we miss the whole point - walking with God.

Take some time today to just walk with God. Get outside, enjoy the cool air or the warm sunshine, and walk with God. Take some time and tell Him that you are sorry for allowing your priorities to get so messed up. Make time today to be with God. Remove the sandals from your feet and the hindrances from heart so that you can hear God talk with you.

Where are you?

Genesis 3.8 "When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. God called to the Man, 'Where are you?'"

We were created to walk with God in the cool of the day, at the end of the day. Walking with God. Can you imagine? What would it be like to walk with God at the end of your day, in the cool of the evening, talking about your day and your life. Let Him know of your struggles and triumphs. This is what Adam and Eve did every day. They ened each day with God.

There is something to learn from this. We were created to walk with God. God longs to be with us, just like He was with Adam and Eve. But many times things get in the way. I'm too busy. It's raining outside. I have too much on my mind. I can't feel God. What is the use, He isn't really there anyway. There is a good show on TV tonight. I just want to relax.

These don't remove the fact that we were created to walk with God. The journey with God is the destination. The relationship is the point of it all. Stepping with God is the point. Walking with God is what we were created for. God wants to hear about your day, every day. He has been waiting for you and I to tell Him all about it. He has been waiting to hear the good, the bad and the ugly of it all.

Take some time today to spend with God, telling Him all...ALL...about your day. God is asking us the same question as He did Adam, "Where are you?"