“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily Reflections
Tuesday, 4th July 2017,
Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Gen 19: 15-29;
Ps 26: 2-3, 9-12;
Mt 8: 23-27
RIDING THE STORMS WITH JESUS!
Imagine you were out on the sea with Jesus and the Apostles. You were a fisherman and spent countless hours on the sea throughout your life. Some days the sea was exceptionally calm and other days there were big waves. But this day was unique. These waves were huge and crashing and you feared that things would not end well. Would you wake Jesus from His sleep? Would we brave the storm without waking Him up?
Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. If this story means just calming the sea then one may question: why does not Jesus allow the seas to be calm, without rough waves? Why does he allow his loved ones to be drowned in the stormy sea of life?
There is much more to this story than just calming the storm. Wherever Jesus is, there is calmness, serenity and peace. No matter how terrible the storms of life are, the very presence of Jesus turns even the worst situation into a great calm. With Jesus in our life no boat nor string wind can drown us. But the problem with us is that we are people of little faith. Our faith is very shallow, and when things do not happen as per our plans, we begin to doubt the very presence of God. Only those who are convinced and have experienced the indwelling and abiding presence of God remain strong and unshaken. Such people experience peace and serenity in all circumstances, even in the most terrible of tempests of life.
Jesus, in His great compassion, is waiting for us to turn to Him in our fear and to seek His help. When we do, He will be there as a parent is there for a child who wakes during the night in fear. But ideally we will face the storm with confidence and hope. We will ideally know that this too will pass and that we should simply trust and stay strong. This seems to be the most ideal lesson we can learn from this story.
Reflect, today, on how you react to hardship and problems in your life. Be they big or small, do you face them with the confidence, calm and hope that Jesus wants you to have? Life is too short to be filled with terror. Have confidence in the Lord no matter what you face each day. If He seems to be asleep, allow Him to remain asleep. He knows what He is doing and you can be certain that He will never allow you to endure more than you can handle.
Prayer: Lord, whatever may come my way I trust You. I know You are always there and will never give me more than I can handle. Increase and deepen my faith in Your indwelling presence, that I may experience a great calm and peace always. Jesus, I do trust in You. Amen.
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