According to Governor Huckabee, "As I see it, we've escorted Him right out of our culture and we've marched Him off the public square, and then we express our surprise that a culture without Him actually reflects what it has become." We've taken prayer and Bible reading out of the schools. People sue a city so that they aren't confronted with a manger scene or a Christmas carol. They file lawsuits to remove a cross that was erected as a memorial for fallen soldiers. Churches and Christian-owned businesses are told to surrender their values under the edict of government orders to provide tax-funded abortion pills. We carefully and intentionally stop saying things are sinful; we call them "disorders"--sometimes we even say they are "normal". We get to where we've abandoned our bedrock moral truths. And then we ask, "Where was God?" It's as if our hearts were hardened.
"Their hearts were hardened."
How many times in the Bible have we seen this phrase, descriptive of sinners bent on killing Christ, or driving him out of their homes, towns and lives. Yet in the Gospel of Mark, chapter six, this phrase is used to describe the Disciples.
And after He (Jesus) had taken leave of them, He went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and He was alone on the land. And He saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him, and were terrified. But immediately He spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." And He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened." (Mark 6:46-52)By way of background, the first part of the chapter tells about the feeding of the five thousand. What a time of celebration! With five loaves and two fish, He prayed to God and the food was blessed. Even the leftovers were multiplied--it took twelve baskets to pick up the scraps. This was the fore-runner of the Sunday-go-to-meeting-with-dinner-on-the-grounds. Can you imagine the fellowship with God that went on that day, and the people who were converted, the lives that were changed. It was truly a "mountain-top" spiritual experience. Yet that very night, the disciples left Him, and got into a boat to travel to Bethsaida.
Jesus had told them to go to Bethsaida. Yet a storm blew in. Did God know that their boat would be in peril? Yes, for God knows everything. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." So it stands to reason that Jesus knew what would happen to them. This may have been why He was watching. "He saw that they were making headway painfully." Where was Jesus when the storm came? He was watching over them.
As time went on, the storm became worse. The waves got higher, the wind blew stronger. Some time during the fourth watch of the night--between 3 a.m. and dawn--Jesus came to them, walking on the water. The disciples, tired, weary, and spent from fighting the wind and the waves, perceived Him there, but their perception was that He was a ghost. Jesus would have passed them by, but they called out. "God have mercy on us. Save us!" Where was Jesus during the worst part of the storm? He was right there with them.
When they called out to God, the disciples saw that Jesus changed His course. Instead of walking by them, as He would have done, He climbed into the boat with them. As soon as He did, the storm subsided. The disciples were shocked--they could not believe what had just happened. They did not take to heart the lesson of the loaves and fishes: it was not that Jesus will always provide our needs; it was that Jesus exercises control over the natural world. He has overcome the world, and he invited them to overcome with Him. Yet they fell away. Their hearts were hardened. Where was Jesus when the storm passed? He was still available to them.
Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary has this to say about that Scripture passage:
The church is often like a ship at sea, tossed with tempests, and not comforted: we may have Christ for us, yet wind and tide against us; but it is a comfort to Christ's disciples in a storm, that their Master is in the heavenly mount, interceding for them. And no difficulties can hinder Christ's appearance for his people, when the set time is come. He silenced their fears, by making himself known to them. Our fears are soon satisfied, if our mistakes are set right, especially our mistakes as to Christ. Let the disciples have their Master with them, and all is well. It is for want of rightly understanding Christ's former works, that we view his present works as if there never were the like before. If Christ's ministers now could cure people's bodily diseases, what multitudes would flock after them! It is sad to think how much more most care about their bodies than about their souls.I believe there is a lesson to be drawn from this passage that we must remember during natural disasters, like Hurricane Sandy, or man-made disasters, like the massacre of 20 school children in Connecticut. Our culture has written God off; but when something evil happens, the first words out of our mouths are "Oh, my God!" The first prayer that comes to our lips is "God, have mercy." Yet when life gets back to normal, we ask, "Where was God in all this?" I submit to you that He was watching over us, waiting to be summoned. He will not go where He is not invited. And even now, when we question His interest and involvement, He is still available to us. All we have to do is ask Him.
We don't have to understand. We may never understand why God allows tragedy. But we would be wise to follow the advice of Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."
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