DON’T  PANIC

I love to read the Book of Mark.  I can see the whole picture of what Jesus did while He was here on earth.  And I learned about the meanings of each story.  Let me tell you then some of the stories I found fascinating.

Let me start with what had happened in Mark chapter 4 verses 35-40.  After a long day that evening, Jesus asked His disciples to go to the other side of the lake.   They all boarded a boat of course and Jesus feeling tired physically, tried to find a cozy place to rest.   As the boat rowed to its destination, a sudden storm came up.  The waves were so strong and high that the boat got swamped with sea water.

The disciples started to feel afraid and they panicked. When they saw Jesus sleeping soundly -they woke Him up and asked Him – 'don’t you care if we drown?'

As the story goes, Jesus got up and rebuked the wind. He just said,  “Quiet! Be still!”  Then the wind stopped and the sea became calm.

Then He said to His disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'

Let’s go to chapter 5 verses 21-43.  This is the story about The Dead Girl and The Sick Woman. 

Jesus, after crossing the lake – was met by a large crowd.  And in the crowd there came a church leader named Jairus.  He came there to see Jesus with a real purpose.  He fell on his knees at Jesus’ feet.  He beg Jesus to see his dying daughter.  He believed Jesus can do something.  He hoped to have his daughter be well again.

But because of the large crowd, Jesus can hardly move forward so fast.  Maybe, in the mind of Jairus, his hope was already ebbing away as time passes by.  Slowly, Jesus moved toward Jairus’ house but suddenly, He stopped.

Standing amidst the large crowd, Jesus asked,  “Who touched Me?”… everyone seemed so surprised.  One quickly and bravely said, ‘How can you asked who touched you’, when everybody’s pushing around you?”

But Jesus knew what He was talking about.  A moment after, a woman in a panicked state, came and fell at His feet trembling with fear, told Him the truth.  Jesus finally said to her, “Your faith healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

And while Jesus was still talking to the woman, a messenger from Jairus’ house came and told his master not to bother Jesus anymore for his daughter is already dead.  If you were Jairus, am sure you had started to panic after hearing the news.  And Jesus knows what Jairus feels.  So, ignoring what the messenger said, Jesus told him not to be afraid – just believe.

Slowly they came close to the church leader’s house.  And when they reached there, there were many people crying and wailing loudly. Jesus went in and said to them, ‘why are you crying and wailing?  The child isn’t dead but asleep.’

Jesus told the crowd to clear up.  He wanted to have peace in the house.  He went in to the child’s room and took her by the hand and said to her – Get up.  Immediately the girl stood up and she lived again.

In chapter 6 verses 30 – 44, these verses tell us about the feeding of the five thousand.  The story is told that when Jesus went to another side of the lake, a large crowd again met Him and His disciples.  These people tried to stay with Jesus, listening eagerly to what He was teaching them.

But as time passed by, Jesus’ disciples started to panic.  They talked to Jesus and told Him, ‘send the people away so they can eat for it’s getting late already’.  But Jesus answered them, feed them- give them something to eat.

If you were one of those disciples, am sure you would have reacted so quickly.  But Jesus always knows what He’s doing.  With five loaves of bread and two fish – five thousand men were feed that very hour.

 After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead to Bethsaida.  When the disciples left, Jesus went up on a mountainside to pray.

When evening came and the boat was in the middle of the lake, Jesus followed His disciples walking on the water.  It was almost midnight at that time.  And when the disciples saw Him, they thought he was a ghost and they cried out… they panicked I should say.  But Jesus immediately spoke to them and said, “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”

There are still a lot of stories here in the Book of Mark.  But I don’t need to tell all of those.   I just want to emphasize what Jesus wants us to do when crises comes and when we are in trouble. 

When we have problems and troubles – we usually panic.  We resort to doing things on our own rather than kneeling before Him and asking His help.  We always think of the best solution in our own way.  We always think- that what we thought of- is always good.  We always feel afraid something bad or even worst would happen. 

Like the disciples in the story in the midst of storm – Jesus was with them yet they still panicked.   They lost their faith in the time of danger. 

In the story of the sick woman – she knows that it was Jesus who healed her – but then she still trembled, she panicked when she was confronted.  Afraid that Jesus was upset to what she had done.  She was thinking what the crowd would do to her – thinking she had caused a commotion.

Jesus wants to assure us all the time.  Like what He had done to Jairus.  He knows what we feel all the time.  He knows what we need and how strong is our faith.

While He was on the land that night, He saw His disciples rowing hard against the strong wind and a cloud forming afar.  These, made Him walk on the water because He wants to reach out to them and give them rest.  But the disciples thought He’s a ghost and not their Saviour.  Like others – there are times when don’t really think of Jesus’ real purpose for all of us… He just seemed like a ghost.  He’s there, He is present always but we don’t fully believe Who and What He is.

And feeding the five thousand – Jesus wants us to be strong in faith with what we have.  We don’t need to be selfish.  We have to give and share what we have with others.  If we have only five loaves of bread and two fish – He knows how to multiply them if we are kind enough to others.  As long as we believe in Him – He will always give His blessings.

He wants us to have peace in our hearts and in our minds.  He wants to give us the comfort and feel His presence.  He wants us to be strong in our beliefs in-spite of troubles and hard times.  He wants us to trust Him more and more as time passes by.

God wants us to hold on to His promises.  John 14:1 says, Let not your heart be troubled.   Trust in God and trust also in me.

In Matthew 6:25 & 34, Jesus doesn’t even want us to worry about our life or worry for tomorrow.

Jesus knew His main purpose when He was sent here on earth.  He never panicked even when He knew His death is coming.  He never ran away nor fought against the will of His Father.  He knew He would die for you and me… but still – He stayed calm and followed His Father’s will.  He never panicked.

DON’T PANIC!  Jesus wants to assure us all the time that He is always there.  Just believe. Pray.  And call upon Him for He is ready all the time to reach out your hand and help you out.

Proverbs 3:5 & 6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.