Healing Rays of Righteousness

Finding Courage in Storms

Read Mark 6:45-52

Storms – we often experience them as sudden and unexpected events in our life, whether they be storms of nature, economic downturn, health crisis, or death of a loved one.  Storms can be very scary with their deepening darkness and increasing turbulence, causing us to feel helpless, hopeless, and terrified.  These raging, out-of-control storms often threaten our emotional and spiritual stability as well as our physical life.

I want to share with you one picture from Scripture that I believe illustrates what Jesus did, does, and always will do for his followers when afflicted and threatened by stormy events.

It was in the early morning hours, during the fourth watch of the night, between three and six o’clock.  Suddenly the disciples are caught in the middle of the lake by a threatening storm over which they had no control.

After his miracle of feeding a large crowd of people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, “Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him” to the other side of the sea. After dismissing the crowd, Jesus “went up on a mountainside to pray.”

While the text doesn’t say this, I’m inclined to think that at least some, if not all,  of Jesus’ praying was for the disciples that he had earlier sent to journey across deep waters at night.  I can imagine Jesus kept his eye on the storm developing over the lake and the increasing difficulty his disciples were having in keeping their boat afloat.  The text does say that Jesus saw them “straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.”

 It was then that Jesus “went out to them, walking on the lake.”  Caught in a fierce storm while in the middle of a large sea during the night was frightening hard work to stay afloat.  And then to see a ghost walking across the stormy waves toward them was terrifying, possibly signaling their certain death by drowning.

In that moment of awful terror and hopelessness, Jesus identifies himself saying, “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  He then climbs into the boat with them, and the storm ceases, making the deep waters calm again.  Stunned with amazement, the disciples were speechless, having just experienced a truth about Jesus that we all need to learn and experience.

This is more than simply a story of what Jesus once did on a stormy night many years ago in far-off Palestine.  It is the story and truth of what he always does for his people when they are caught in life’s storms with contrary winds and in danger of being overwhelmed.

The truth about Jesus that this story confirms is that in all times of difficult and stormy life events, we do not struggle alone, for Jesus is watching and praying for us.   And when the storm becomes severe and terrifying, Jesus comes, walking across and on top of the raging storm in our life, and with his calm and strong voice bids us to “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”

Yes, I have experienced it to be true.  In our most desperate moments Jesus comes to us in the midst of the storm.  He doesn’t begin by overruling the forces of nature or of evil that threaten us, but instead he comes, first calling us to look up, to see the reality of His presence and not be afraid.  Then he climbs into the situation with us and calms the raging sea of turmoil around us.

When it is the darkest, He comes.  When we are the weariest, He comes.  When the sea is so wide and our boat is so small and the storms of life are raging, He comes.  When we’re up a creek with no paddle, and even if we had a paddle our arms are too tired to hold it, He comes.  When it’s too dark to see, or worst yet, too dark to hope, Jesus comes.  He comes, and his presence quiets our fears and doubts.

Some of the most assuring words we can hear in the midst of any frightening, exhausting experience are the words of Jesus, “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  He comes to calm our greatest fears with a pledge of his unshakable, ever-loving, almighty presence, as recorded in Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

His presence reassures us.  His presence is our comfort and strength.  The psalmist testifies, “Even though I walk through the valley of (shadowy, threatening) death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4).

O Lord Jesus, please come by here?  We need you now.  Some are weary from struggling, some are fearful, some have given up hope, many are crying.  O Lord, come by here.

Teacher, I Want To See

Read Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus and his disciples, along with a large crowd, leave Jericho on their way to Jerusalem, there was a blind man, Bartimaeus, sitting by the roadside begging for money.  Hearing a noisy crowd approaching he asked what was happening.  Being told that it was Jesus of Nazarene, he cries out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”  Many in the crowd rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Unfortunately, Bartimaeus has two strikes against him — he is blind, and he is begging. During Jesus’ time and culture, that was a perfect prescription for being overlooked by society.  It’s difficult for me to imagine the pain of scorn and rejection, of being considered a worthless person in society that Bartimaeus daily suffered because of his blindness.

However, this blind man sees something that no one has yet seen or declared.  For the first time, Jesus of Nazareth is publicly called the “Son of David.”  In doing so, Bartimaeus makes a declaration of faith, conviction, and confidence that this Jesus can completely heal him, physically, socially, and spiritually.

In this miracle story, it is only the sightless man who sees Jesus clearly.  Only blind Bartimaeus correctly identifies Jesus as the long-awaited “Son of David” – the promised Messiah for the world.

For me, it is so reassuring to note that Jesus heard Bartimaeus’ urgent plea, stopped, and called Bartimaeus to come to him.  Bartimaeus makes a quick response, “throwing his coat aside” (used to catch coins), “jumped to his feet” (abandons his sitting position as a beggar), “and came to Jesus” (on his own, without help).  And with amazing love and compassion, Jesus responds to the ready faith of Bartimaeus with the question, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Bartimaeus is a beggar, so he could’ve asked for a bag of gold.  He’s got no status in the community, so he could’ve asked for the respect of others.  He’s unemployed, so he could’ve asked for a job.  He’s made mistakes in life, so he could’ve asked for forgiveness.

I understand Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?”  as being open-ended, non-directive – a blank check, just waiting to be filled in.  I really wonder how I would have responded, if I were blind Bartimaeus.  How would you have responded

Bartimaeus says, “Teacher, I want to see!”  It’s a simple, straightforward request, but one that is much harder to fulfill than a plea for a job or a bag of gold, or even a place of honor in the community.

Bartimaeus makes his request, trusting Jesus to be both infinitely powerful and endlessly merciful, willing and able to fulfill his request for healing.

“Go, your faith has healed you” says Jesus.  And immediately Bartimaeus could see and follows Jesus down the road toward Jerusalem.  Bartimaeus is spontaneously enthusiastic, and I believe, in all likelihood, he is one of the cheering crowd who surrounded Jesus as he enters Jerusalem, shouting “”Hosanna! …Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David.”

Just before this encounter, in verses 35-45, James and John had asked Jesus to do for them whatever they asked.  The difference between Jesus’ response to Bartimaeus’s request and the disciples’ request is the difference between faith and ambition.  Faith, as we see in Bartimaeus, asks for needs, whereas Ambition, as we see in James and John, begs for wants.

“What do you want me to do for you?” What would be your response? What are the deepest needs that you haven’t asked Jesus or anyone else to help you with?  Does the deep darkness of fear, rejection, or loneliness – or the blindness of guilt or unbelief keep you from experiencing the healing of forgiveness, joy, and peace that Jesus offers?  How might you take a leap of faith and against all negative voices, ask for healing of mind, body, and spirit, confidently believing that Jesus will give you all that you need and more?

Jesus tells Bartimaeus, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Faith is the catalyst for asking, and asking is the key to healing!  We may not receive precisely what we want, but we can be assured that Jesus is ready to supply our need.

This story, like many others from Scripture, reveals Jesus as the compassionate, all-loving, almighty healer.  Like Bartimaeus, let us together embrace Jesus as our powerful Messiah King, and follow him with courage and confidence, knowing that he is a most trustworthy Savior.

The Ultimate Thirst Quencher

Read John 4:4-26 

The story begins with Jesus, a Jew, seated and resting by Jacob’s well near Sychar, the capital town in Samaria.  It is about noontime and a Samaritan woman comes alone to the well to draw water for herself.  Seeing the stranger and realizing that he was a Jewish man, she hesitated, wondering why he was there, because Jewish people usually avoided contact and conversation with Samaritans.

John says in verse 4, “Now he (Jesus) had to go through Samaria.”  Palestine is only 120 miles long from north to south.  But within that 120 miles there were in the time of Jesus three definite divisions of territory.  In the extreme north was Galilee — in the extreme south was Judea — and in between was Samaria.

The quickest route from Judea to Galilee was to go through Samaria.  But there was a centuries-old feud between the Jews and the Samaritans.   The Samaritans were descendants of those Jews who had not been deported into exile and had intermarried with the heathen colonist brought in from Babylonia by the Assyrian conquerors.  And so they were looked upon by the returning Jewish exiles as unclean half-breeds of Jewish blood.   The hatred and feuding between them deepened when the Samaritans’ offer to help rebuild the temple was refused.

So the Jews would cross the Jordan River in Judea, go up the eastern side of the river to avoid Samaria, then re-cross the Jordan north of Samaria and enter Galilee.  However, this alternative route took twice as long — another three days of travel.

Jesus chose to go through Samaria, I believe, because his primary reason for coming into the world was to love the world — all of it, not just some parts of it.  His coming was to break down barriers — all barriers, not just some of them.  And so, Jesus “had to go through Samaria” because he knew and understood the spiritual thirst and yearnings of the Samaritan people.

And why did this woman come to this well, located more than a mile outside of town, when there was a good well in town — and why did she come during the hottest time of the day?  I think this woman felt deeply hurt by the resentment and rejection from her own townspeople.  She knew she was an outcast because of her immoral lifestyle, and was most likely the daily gossip at the town well.   And so, to avoid the pain and embarrassment, she walked the greater distance in the heat of the day along to get her water supply.

As the woman comes closer to the well, Jesus lifts his head and looking at her, makes a simple, unexpected request of her — “Will you give me a drink?” (v.7).   In politely asking this Samaritan woman for a drink of water, Jesus cuts through centuries of suspicion and animosity, and treats her with respect and dignity as a human being.   He treats her with respect even though he knows the immorality and emptiness she tries to hide.

The woman can only respond with undisguised amazement, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.  How can you ask me for a drink?”  She is well aware that any self-respecting Jew would never consider even touching the water jar of a Samaritan, and most would avoid being touched by even the shadow of a Samaritan.

But it is not long before the woman who has been asked for water is addressing the thirsty traveler as “Sir” and asking him for the water he offers.  Jesus offers this morally corrupt, Samaritan woman water that can quench her deepest spiritual soul-thirst, not just for a day, but forever.   He offers her water that is continuously fresh and abundant — “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  He offers this woman “living water” as “the gift from God” and it is hers for the asking.

All through Scripture, water is a rich symbol of varied spiritual meanings — but always of life.  The precious physical water, coming from well or river, bringing life and beauty to the barren desert land of Jesus, had become a symbol of that everlasting spiritual water which could quench and revive the parched, dying human spirit.  So the Psalmist cries out, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”  (Psalm 42:1).

And the Apostle John records that on the last day of the annual Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus throws out an amazing invitation to all who hear him, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”  (John 7:37-39).  Then John explains, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

This is the invitation the Samaritan woman is hearing.  And it is the invitation Jesus still gives to all whose lives are empty, barren, and thirsty.  To all who feel unloved, abused, rejected, and lonely, Jesus offers, “living water — a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

Are you drinking living water — the ultimate thirst quencher?  It can be yours for the asking. “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’  … Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”  (Rev. 22:17). 

God Is For Us

Read Romans 8:28-39

We are quick to classify significant events as either “tragic” or “triumphant” based on our very limited knowledge and insight.  However, we need to admit that such simplistic classifications do not and cannot fully describe nor explain the whys and wherefores of such events.

What is so visible to us in regards to our every experience or situation in life is, in fact, so small, so miniscule, in comparison to what God knows, sees, and purposes for us.  He sees and knows the big and eternal picture of the world in which we live.  And he knows every little detail about us because he created us and breathed life and purpose into our bodies.  And so it is only reasonable to believe that his perspective of any event or situation happening to us would be much different and more accurate than ours.

The Biblical story of Jesus, from the cradle in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem, has dramatically revealed to us the amazing extreme of God’s everlasting love, and gloriously confirms that God is for us.  That story is summed up in these two verses from John’s gospel – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  (3:16-17).   

I will always remember one of my seminary professors, J.C. Wenger, frequently saying, “The yardstick of God’s love is Golgotha.”      

In these verses from Romans 8, the apostle, Paul, inspires our thinking and response by asking two questions.  His first question is this – “What then, shall we say in response to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (vv. 31-32).   

Paul is emphatically trying to convince us that written on the underside of every experience in our life, both the good and bad, is the holy seal of assurance, “God is for you.”  Unfortunately, some have misunderstood verse 28 and being disappointed, have become confused and discouraged.  I think it is very important to note what this verse does not say as well as what it does say;

1. It does not say God causes everything that happens. He doesn’t.
2. It does not say that everything that happens is “good.” It isn’t.
3. It does not say that all things are working for the “good” in terms of health, wealth,and success.  They are not.
4. It does not say that everything is going to work out for “good” for all people.           The truth is that God can do some things for those walking with him that he cannot    do for those running away from him.

Verse 29 clearly identifies the “good” promised in this scripture as the ability “to be conformed to the image of his Son.”  To accomplish this, God uses all things, the good and the bad, the joys and the tears, the successes and the failures to shape us into the likeness of his Son, Jesus.  And most certainly, God does not waste any events or experiences in our life and world toward accomplishing his work of transforming us into the person he created us to become.

Paul says we know this because God is for us.  Pause and think about what you just read.  God is for us,  -not “may be” -not “has been” -not “was” -not “will be” — but “God is for us.”  Can it really be so?  Today, at this very hour, this very minute and every minute, he is for us.

Paul’s second question is this – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”  Illustrating from his personal experience of hardships and sufferings, Paul lists those things that can cause us to question God’s love for us, and emphatically declares that none of these things can ever separate us from Christ’s love.

Rather than separating us from the love of Christ, Paul declares that the love of Christ makes us “more than conquerors” over all these difficulties and sufferings.  (v.37).  In other words, our sufferings do not defeat and separate us from the love of Christ, but rather the love of Christ defeats our sufferings and strengthens our bond of relationship to him.  Truly, we are the dearly loved, adopted children of God.

In verse 38 Paul answers his own two questions, with a powerful, all-inclusive declaration regarding the love of God for us – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  This is Paul’s testimony of faith from his own life of many very difficult, life-threatening experiences.

I know that if all I had to go on was what is visible and tangible to me in difficult and tragic events, I would soon become discouraged, afraid, and without hope.  However, as a follower of Jesus Christ I can live joyously and hopeful, in spite of these circumstances, because I have confidence in the truth and promises of Romans 8:28-39.

God is present with us every moment or every day.  He has promised “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  He is by our side cheering us on, applauding our accomplishments.  He is there to pick us up when we stumble and fall, and he puts his arms around us to comfort us when we hurt and cry.  God is always for us, and in every situation of life working for our good.  Thanks be to God!