Other Little Ships 10

"Mark 4:40, "And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?

How is it that ye have no faith?

41.  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Did the disciples have faith? The scriptures says, "how is it that ye have no faith?"  The disciples had faith, but no faith for this storm. 

But even if the disciples had faith for the storm, would there have still been a storm?  I believe there would have still been a storm.

If the disciples had faith for the storm, would they have called out for Jesus sooner?  I believe that they would have. 

I believe that if they had faith for the storm, they would have awoken Jesus sooner to ride the storm out with them, or to still the waters sooner, but pride is an awful thing.  They were still trying to sail the ship on their own. 

Can you sense the spiritual implication here?

They really didn't want to wake Jesus up and for Him to find out that they were in a situation that they could not get out of on their own. 

After all, Peter and John and James were great fishermen and they had been out on this sea many times in similar circumstances and they didn't need the Lord.

And they really didn't want those in the "other little ships" to see them sweat.

Here they were again, out on the same sea that they had navigated alone before, the same sea that used to bring them a good living.  The same sea that they thought they had mastered on their own. 

Does any of this sound like a similar experience in our own life?

They really didn't think they needed Jesus, because they had been there before. They thought they could withstand the storm on their own.

They thought they could contend with the storm without any help. 

They thought they could ride out any storm on their own.

But when the ship was full and they had lost their pride and they knew their was no other way, they became fearful.  They became fearful, not just because they did not trust God, but also because they did not use good judgment and get God involved in their situation early in their dilemma.

Why do so many people wait until they completely mess things up before they ask for help? 

Do you know why they were fearful?  They were fearful because they let their arrogance and pride almost take them to the point of death before they would even call on His name.

They were fearful, because they tried to ride out the storm on their own.  They had a reason to fear.  Had it not been for the presence of God, they would have all perished for foolishness.

Isn’t it that way for us too?

How full will you let your ship get before you cry out to God?

Why is this so important?  Because you want to learn from the Word of God every truth can keep you free from fear and faithlessness, not just for yourself, but for all the other little ships that are counting on your faith at this time.

    Excerpt from Other Little Ships by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016