Passing By

Passing By

48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. Mark 6:48-51

In this passage, we see something very surprising! In verse 48 we find Jesus viewing his disciples toiling with a completely out of control sea….and then we find out; He would have passed them by, and just continued on His way; except for the fact that they saw Him and cried out. Jesus, at this point, immediately comforts them and brings a complete calm to their situation. This calm which He brought made them stand in amazement, beyond any measure.

When I read this I was immediately struck by how much this is like our lives today. How many times when struggling with a problem do we fail to call out to God? How many times, because of our failing to call out, do we fail to receive Christ’s peace, assistance, and the complete calm He can bring into our lives?

Many Christians have the attitude… “God can see me struggling and if it is His will He will help me.” In this passage, we see that, YES, God can see our struggles but He sometimes doesn’t help us until we cry out. Just knowing God can help us is not sufficient….we MUST CRY OUT!!!

I’ve Missed You

Lord, I’ve missed You

I realized just today

I’ve missed Your gentle presence

At the start of each new day



For my feet had grown to busy

From running here and there

And my heart had grown so heavy

From the burden of despair



For it’s in the quiet moments

When the day is fresh and new

That I find is the best time

To talk and hear from You



But this time of sweet refreshing

I’ve learned can only come

When I do not feel hurried

By things that’s left undone



In singleness of mind, my heart

Must be in earnest and be true

Or when You’re passing by my way

I’ll find that I’ve missed You.

Written By:

Laura L Hensley

Copyright 2001