A Really Hard Day

I had a hard day recently. Please understand though that hard days at my office are not an uncommon occurrence, but this day the emails and phone calls wouldn’t stop. Everyone had questions. Everyone had demands, and to top it off, I had a customer call to tell me exactly what he thought of the letter he had received with my name on it.

Normally I let days like this roll off like water off a duck’s back, but that day was different. It was just too much, and in the middle of the phone call from the upset customer, I found myself in a state of panic. Now, I’ve never had a panic attack before, but I think I may have had one. Suddenly, my hands were shaking so badly that I could not even control my computer mouse. It was not a pretty sight.

When the customer finally paused to catch his breath, I quickly interjected, “Can I put you on hold?” I think he said yes, but at that point, I really didn’t care. All I knew was that I needed to be rescued, and I cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Looking back now, the day had started out so well. It was one of my days to work from home, which are normally lovely. I get so much accomplished because I don’t have all the distractions that I have in the office. However, that day took an unexpected turn, which makes me think of the disciples in the boat that night with Jesus.

It had been a normal day for the disciples, too. Jesus had been teaching the crowds about the kingdom of God. To help illustrate his point, Jesus used the metaphor of a mustard seed (Mark 4:30-34). The people listening would have known what a mustard seed was like. They knew it was tiny, but they also knew that once planted it would grow and spread. I read that it is highly invasive, and one plant can produce up to 8,000 seeds, which allows it to choke out native flora and disrupt local ecosystems. In other words, it can be a problem in your garden.

In using this metaphor, Jesus was asking the people to picture their own gardens with mustard plants going crazy, and then to see the connection to God’s kingdom. They were to be like mustard seeds, spreading like wildfire, disrupting the world around them, and growing to be the largest plant in the garden (Mark 4:32). I had to smile as I thought of the accusation made against Paul and Silas in Thessalonica, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” (Acts 17:6) Oh, that we would all be accused of turning the world upside down for Christ!

This is how the disciples had spent their day, listening to the words of their teacher. Hearing him say that they were to his light in the world (Mark 4:21,22). Yet we know how easy it is to be simply hearers of the word and not doers (James 1:22). Hence, it was time for a practical test to see how much the disciples had really learned.

Mark tells us that when evening came Jesus said to the disciples that they should cross over to the other side of the lake; thus, they piled into the boat and set sail (Mark 4:35,36). It had been a long day for them all, and Jesus soon fell asleep (Luke 8:23). However, before they reached their destination, a storm suddenly erupted: “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.” (Mark 4:37)

The Sea of Galilee was known for bad storms, but we also know that some of the disciples were seasoned fisherman. They had grown up fishing these waters, but something must have been different about this storm. Panic swept through the boat as wave after wave crashed over them. Surely, they were going to a watery grave that night, but then they happened to notice their teacher sleeping peacefully in the back of the boat.

So, there is our scene. We have a raging storm, crazed disciples, and a sleeping Jesus. However, panic quickly gave way to another emotion when the disciples realized that Jesus wasn’t doing a thing to help them. Everything they knew to be true about their teacher was washed away by the pounding waves and they cried out: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38)

While all three of the writers of the Synoptic Gospels record this story, Matthew and Luke say that the disciples cried out to Jesus to save them (Matthew 8:25; Luke 8:24). However, Mark’s telling of the story reveals more of a biting edge of criticism to their call for help. “Don’t you care if we drown” has a different spin then, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown.” I feel that out of the three, Mark captured their true emotions that night, because we all know how easy it is to panic and forget how much God loves us.

The camera now pans to Jesus. What would he do? 

Mark tells 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) My guess is that you could have heard a pin drop as the boat gently rocked on a now calm and placid lake, but the teaching moment was not yet done. Jesus then turned to his water-logged disciples and said, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

I read that the Greek word for “afraid” is deiloi, which means “cowardly fear”. Instead of having faith like a mustard seed, the disciples allowed fear to take root and push from their minds an important fact. In their panic, they forgot that Jesus had told them they were going to the other side of the lake, and when had Jesus ever not done what he said he would do?  If they were going to the other side, they could believe it would happen.

And now I have to ask myself, why was I so afraid that day? Why did I give into cowardly fear? The thing is, like the disciples, Jesus instantly rescued me when I cried out. His peace washed over me and I remembered again that he will never leave nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6).

The next day was a good but then came Wednesday. And then Thursday. And then Friday. Day after day the clouds gathered, and I found myself again in the eye of the storm with things swirling out of control. However, this time I did not give into fear because I remembered each day who was in the boat with me. I remembered that God has called me to this job for a specific reason, and if he has called me, he will get me to the other side each and every day.

Friends, we will all have hard days, but we do not have to give into panic. We can trust that the God of the Universe will equip us because he is able and he will always be with us, “even to the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20)

Amen, so be it!  Lisa

Discussion Questions

We all have hard days, but some days are harder than others.  Do you recall one that you experienced recently? How did you react?

If you had been in the boat that night, how would you have felt when you saw Jesus sleeping?

Would anyone accuse you of turning the world upside for Christ?  If not, what do you need to do with your mustard seeds?